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THE  RISE 


OF  THE 


CURRENT  REFORMATION 


Or    A   Study    in  the    History    of 

Theology  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ 


By 
HIRAM  VAN  KIRK,  A.  B.,  B.  D.,  Ph.  D.. 

(Dean  of  Berkeley  Bible  Seminary.) 


^OFTK- 


ST.  I.OUIS: 
CHRISTIAN    PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

1907 


Copyright,  1907- 
Christian  PubIvIShing  Company. 


DeDlcatton. 


TO  MY  PARENTS. 
Humble  and  unknown,  one  living,  one  dead, 
who  on  the  Ohio  farm  gave  me  being  and 
the  first  lessons  in  life,  and  whose  characters 
have  ever  been  my  chief  inspiration,  is  this 
first  publication  affectionately  dedicated. 

H.  V.  K. 


159439 


PREFACE 

The  "Current  Reformation"  was  a  familiar  name  used  at  the  time  for  the 
religious  movement  which  has  resulted  in  the  "Disciples  of  Christ"  or  "Christian 
Churches."  It  is  adopted  as  the  title  best  expressive  of  the  phase  of  this  phe- 
nomenon of  modern  church  history  set  forth  in  this  book.  The  work,  as  will 
be  evident  to  every  reader,  is  written  from  within  the  movement  and  in  confessed 
sympathy  with  it.  On  the  otTier  hand,  the  writer  has  earnestly  tried  to  tell  the 
truth.  As  far  as  possible,  the  words  of  the  original  authors  have  been  made  to 
speak  for  themselves.  The  writer  has  interpreted  his  duty  as  narration,  not 
praise  or  blame.  He  gladly  acknowledges  the  excellent  work  done  by  Dr.  W.  K. 
Garrison,  "Alexander  Campbell's  Theology";  by  Dr.  Errett  Gates,  "The  Early 
Relation  and  Separation  of  the  Disciples  and  Baptists,"  and  the  "History  of  the 
Disciples" ;  also  the  service  done  by  C.  A.  Young,  in  the  publication  of  "Historic 
Documents  Illustrating  Christian  Union";  but  his  own  researches  have  been 
independent  of  these  and  for  the  most  part  prior  in  time.  They  have  been,  as 
the  book  will  show,  with  the  original  sources  as  far  as  these  are  attainable  on 
this  Western  Hemisphere. 

This  book  was  first  written  as  a  Doctor's  Thesis  in  the  University  of  Chicago. 
Having  been  added  to  out  of  the  practical  work  of  the  class-room  and  conven- 
tion floor  in  California,  its  author  has  taken  the  occasion  of  the  Texas  Christian 
Lectureship,  1905,  to  place  it  in  final  form. 

The  limitations  of  the  work  are  freely  recognized  at  many  points.  The 
writer  invites  a  frank  criticism  and  will  gladly  recognize  any  errors  which  the 
reader  may  be  able  to  point  out  to  him. 

H.  V.  K, 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

L     Essence  of  Christianity. 

1.  Distinction  between, 

(i)     The    Christian    Principle, 

a.    A  sense  of  worship  toward  God. 

'b.     A  sense  of  brotherhood  to  all  of  God's  creatures. 

(2)     Historic    Forms    of   Christianity. 

2.  Tendencies. 

(i)     Essential    Protestantism. 
(2)     Essential   Catholicism. 

3.  Primitive   Christianity   Defined. 

II.  Jewish   Christianity. 

1.  Defined. 

2.  Problems. 

(i)     Mosaism. 
(,2)     Messianism. 

3.  Transition. 

(i)     Paulinism. 
(2)     Hellenism. 

III.  Greek  Theology. 

I.     Factors. 

(i)     Faith   in   Jesus. 
(2)     Greek  Philosophy. 

2.  Product. 

The  Logos  Doctrine. 

3.  Dogmas. 

(i)     The  Trinity. 

(2)     The  Twofold  Nature  of  Christ. 

IV.  Latin   Theology. 

1.  Representative — Augustine. 

2.  Factors. 

(i)     Pauline   Gospel. 

(2)  Greek  Dogmas. 

(3)  Neo-Platonism. 

(4)  Roman  Law. 

(5)  Vulgar  Catholicism. 

3.  Problems — Sin  and  Grace. 

4.  Dogmas. 

(i)  Adam. 

(2)  Adam's  Fall. 

(3)  Corruption  of  the  Race. 

(4)  Gift  of  Christ. 

(5)  Baptismal  Regeneration. 

(6)  Free  Grace. 

(7)  Highest  Good. 

5.  Solutions. 

(i)     Augustinianism. 

(2)  Pelagianism. 

(3)  Semi-Pelagianism. 

V.  Scholastic  Theology. 

I.     Factors. 

(i)     Traditions  of  the  Church — Matter. 
(2)     The  Greek  Philosophy— Method— Aristotle. 
7 


2. 

Dogmas. 

(i)     Atonement — Anselm. 

(2)     The  Church— Aquinas. 

3. 

Outcome. 

(i)     Tridentine  Catholicism. 

(2)     The  Ultra-Reformation. 

(3)     The  Reformation. 

VI.   Protestant  Theology. 

I. 

Principles. 

(i)     Justification  by  Faith. 

(2)     Authority  of  the   Scriptures. 

(3)     Universal  Priesthood  of  All  Believers. 

2. 

Periods. 

(i)     First  Generation. 

(2)     Second  Generation. 

(3)     Post-Reformation  Scholasticism. 

3. 

Dogmas. 

(i)     Old. 

(a)     The  Trinity. 

(b)     The  Twofold  Nature  of  Christ. 

(c)     Sin  and  Grace — Predestination. 

(d)     Atonement. 

(2)     New. 

(a)     Justification  by  Faith. 

(b)     Authority  of  the  Scriptures. 

(c)     Inspiration  of  the  Bible. 

4- 

Divisions. 

(i)     Lutheran. 

(2)     Reformed. 

(3)     Mediating. 

(a)     German  Reformed. 

(b)     Anglican. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  COVENANT  THE0I,0GY. 

I.    Statement. 

I. 

Historical  Background. 

(i)     Calvinism. 

(2)     School  of  Saumur. 

(3)     Arminianism. 

2. 

Life  of  Coccejus. 

3. 

Analysis  of  De  Foedere  et  Testamento  Dei. 

(i)     Definition. 

(2)     Elements. 

(a)     Lex. 

(b)     Promissio. 

(c)     Cominatio. 

(3)     Twofold   Nature. 

(a)     Foedus  Operum — Its  Abrogation. 

(b)     Foedus  Gratiae— Its  Promulgation. 

^• 

Later  Contributions. 

(i)     Burman. 

(2)     Witsius. 

II.    Historical   Significance. 

I. 

Possible  Sources. 

(i)     The  Bible. 

(2)     Political  Philosophy  of  the  Times. 

2. 

The  Genesis  of  Social  Contract  Theory. 

(l)     Aristotle. 

Contents. 

(2)  Stoics — Lex  Naturae. 

(3)  Roman  Law — Jus  Civile  et  Jus  Gentium. 

(4)  Cicero — Lex  Naturae — Jus  Gentium. 

(5)  Aquinas — Lex  Naturae  et  Lex  Instituta. 

(6)  Grotius — Lex  Naturae — Jus  Gentium. 

(7)  Coccejus — Lex  Naturae — Foedus  Operum. 
3.    Development. 

(i)     In  Politics. 

(a)  Grotius. 

(b)  Hobbes. 

(c)  Locke. 

(d)  Rousseau— "Contrat   Social." 

(e)  American  Revolution. 
(2)     In  Theology. 

(a)*    Covenant  Note  in    Calvinism. 

(b)  The  Marrow  Theology, 

a.     William  Ames. 
h.     Edward   Fisher. 

c.  Thomas   Boston. 

d.  The  Seceders. 

(c)  Translations. 

III.    Connection    with   the    Current   Reformation. 

1.  Fact. 

(i)     Lifework  of  Alexander   Campbell. 

(a)  Sermon  on  Law. 

(b)  Progress  of  Revelation. 

(c)  Debates. 

(2)     Analysis  of  His  Teachings. 

(a)  Definition. 

(b)  .Ninefold  Covenant. 

(c)  Way  of  Salvation. 

(d     Positive  and  Moral  Precepts. 

2.  Influence. 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE    PHILOSOPHY    OE    LOCKE. 

I.  Statement. 

1.  Preparation — Bacon;    Des  Cartes. 

2.  Life  of  John  Locke. 

3.  Analysis  of  the  Essay  on  Human  Understanding. 

(i)     Occasion  and  Purpose. 
(2)     Problems. 

(a)  Origin  of  Knowledge — Tabula  Rasa  Theory. 

(b)  Degrees  of  Knowledge. 

a.     By  process  of  Reason. 
T.     Certainty. 

(a)  Intuition. 

(b)  Demonstration. 
2.     Probabihty. 

(a)  Belief. 

(b)  Opinion. 

h.    By  process  of  Revelation — Faith. 

(c)  Limits  of  Knowledge. 

4.  Outcome. 

II.  Connection  with  the  Current  Reformation. 

1.  External   Evidence. 

2.  Internal   Evidence. 

(i)     Theory  of  Knowledge. 

(2)  Origin  of  Language. 

(3)  Knowledge,  Belief  and  Opinion. 

9 


Contents. 

(4)  Definition  of  Faith. 

(5)  Doctrine  of  Revelation. 

(6)  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
III.    Influence. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  PRECURSORS. 

I.   The  Reformation  in  Scotland. 
II.   The  Established  Church. 

III.  The  Scottish  Sects. 

1.  Cameronians. 

2.  Seceders. 

(i)     Associate  Presbytery — Erskine. 

(2)  Presbytery  of  Relief. 

(3)  Burghers  and  Anti-Burghers. 

(4)  New  Lights  and  Old  Lights. 

3.  The   Scotch   Independents. 

(i)     Old   Independents. 

(a)  John  Glas. 

(b)  Robert  Sandeman. 

(2)  Scotch   Baptists. 

(^a)     A.  McLean, 
(b)     Wm.  Jones. 

(3)  New  Independents. 

(a)  Robert   Haldane. 

(b)  Jas.  A.  Haldane. 

(c)  Greville  Ewing. 

IV.  Influence  on  the   Current  Reformation. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  RISE. 

Introduction. 

I.  The  English  Brethren. 

1.  Circular  Letters  of  Churches  Holding  to  the  Primitive  Order. 

2.  Mr.  Campbell's  Review  of  Their  History. 

3.  His  Connection  with  Them. 

II.  The  Disciples. 

I.-  Sketch  of  the  New  York  Church. 

2.  Walter  Scott. 

3.  Their  Contribution. 

III.  The  Reformers. 

1,  Thomas  Campbell. 

(i)     Sketch. 

(2)     Contribution — Emphasis  on   Christian  Union. 

2.  Alexander  Campbell. 

(i)     Sketch. 

(2)     Contribution. 

(a)  Application  of  principles. 

a.  Church  government. 

b.  Baptism. 

c.  The  Confession. 

d.  Faith. 

e.  The  Lord's  Day. 

f.  Work  of  Holy  Spirit. 

g.  Progress  of  Revelation. 
h.  Nomenclature. 

i.     Design  of  Baptism. 

(b)  Proclamation  of  the  Reformation. 

10 


Contents. 

3.  Origin  of  Early  Churches. 

Brush  Run. 

Wellsburg. 

Pittsburg, 

Louisville  and  Nashville. 

Washington  Association. 

Mahoning  Association. 

Churches  in  Kentucky  and  Virginia. 

4.  Separation   from  the   Baptists. 
IV.   The  Christians. 

1.  B.  W.  Stone. 

(i)     Sketch. 

(2)     The  Springfield  Presbytery. 

2.  Their  Contribution. 
Conclusion, 

1.  Proof  of  Thesis. 

2.  Origin  of  Names. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   PRINCIPEES. 

I.     The  Ultimate  Principle— The  Conversion  of  the  World. 
II.     The  Material  Principle— The  Union  of  All  Christians. 
III.     The  Formal  Principle — The  Restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity. 
Items. 

1.  No   Creeds. 

2.  Bible  Names  for  Bible  Things. 

3.  Primitive  Order  of  Worship. 

4.  Primitive    Organization. 

5.  Primitive  Discipline. 
Conclusion — Observations  and  Exhortations. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PRINCIPLES   OF  INTERPRETATION. 


I. 

Sources. 

II. 

Rules. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THEOI^OGY  OE  AI.EXANDER   CAMPBET.I* 

I. 

Cosmology 

II. 

Bibliology. 

III. 

Theology. 

Doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

IV. 

Anthropology. 

V. 

Christology. 

VI. 

Soteriologj[^. 

I.     Faith. 

2.    Repentance. 

3.     Baptism. 

(i)     Action. 

(2)     Subject. 

(3)     Design. 

(4)     Place. 

VI] 

[.     Pneumatology. 

vni 

'..     Ecclesiology. 

IX 

.    Eschatology. 

11 


V 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

'A  Brief  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Theology  from  the  Apostolic  Age  to 
the  Close  of  the  Reformation. 

In  order  to  place  the  average  reader  in  touch  with  the  period  of 
history  out  of  which  we  wish  to  draw  the  threads  of  this  narrative,  we 
make  a  brief  sketch  of  the  progress  of  Christian  thought  from  the  be- 
ginning to  1648. 

I.     Th  e  Es  s  en  c  e  o  f  Ch  r  i  s  t  ian  i  ty  . 

One  must  distinguish  between  the  Christian  Principle  and  any  of 
the  historic  realizations  of  Christianity.  The  first  is  the  core,  the  es- 
sence, the  inner  principle  of  Christianity,  which  runs  through  all  ages, 
and  is  the  vital  redemptive  force  in  the  world.  The  second  is  the  shell, 
the  phenomenal,  the  outer  form  of  Christianity.  It  is  Christianity  sub- 
jected to  the  limitation  of  any  particular  time,  place,  race,  and  moral  and 
industrial  conditions  of  society,  Thus,  we  have  one  Christian  Principle 
— in  all  and  through  all — and  many  historic  forms — as  Apostolic  Chris- 
tianity, Greek  Christianity,  Latin  Christianity,  etc. 

The  source  of  Christianity  is  Jesus.  Its  essence  is  best  seen  in  his 
consciousness.  What  he  realized  in  his  life  with  the  Father,  what  he 
gave  to  the  world  in  his  teaching,  in  his  work,  in  his  person — this  is 
the  Gospel,  his  Word  of  God  to  men.  Two  elements  are  prominent  in 
this  kernel: — (a)  A  sense  of  sonship  to  God;  (b)  A  sense  of  brother- 
hood of  all  of  God's  creatures.  The  first  is  Christian  Faith — a  trust  in 
God  through  Jesus  Christ,  the  sense  of  forgiveness,  of  favor  in  his  sight, 
of  union  and  communion  with  Him, — reliance  on  Him, — self-resignation 
and  peace  in  the  midst  of  the  conflicts  of  the  world.  It  is  the  filial  feeling 
raised  to  its  highest  power.  The  second  is  Christian  Love — the  frater- 
nal duty  which  springs  from  filial  trust.  "For  he  that  loveth  not  his 
brother  whom  he  hath  seen  cannot  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen." 
This  core  is  a  faith,  personal,  not  propositional.  It  is  faith  in  Christ  as 
Savior,  as  moral  guide — the  willingness  to  live  the  Christ  kind  of  a  life ; 
not  the  belief  of  any  truth  about  him,  however  true  this  may  be.  It  is 
religio-ethical,  not  intellectual-legal.  It  is  not  mere  Orthodoxy.  Again, 
this  core  is  Life,  not  doctrine,  not  institution.     It  is  a  relation  to  God 

13 


14  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reeormation. 

realized  in  the  inner  life, — filial  and  fraternal ;  not  in  the  saving  value 
of  right  thinking,  not  in  any  historic  form  idealized  and  handed  down 
in  toto.  It  is  not  any  kind  of  High  Churchism.  Lastly,  the  Christian 
principle  is  Gospel,  not  Law.  It  proclaims  the  freedom  of  the  child  of 
God  from  any  bondage  to  sin  or  to  a  law  for  sin.  It  is  the  love  prin- 
ciple regnant  in  the  life,  not  any  subjection  to  detail  rules.  It  is  not 
Judaism. 

Hence,  two  tendencies  are  ever  present  in  Christianity, — ^to  preserve 
it  in  principle  and  propagate  it  as  such,  and  to  realize  it  in  form  and 
hand  it  down  as  such.  The  one  is  essential  Protestantism, — the  attempt 
to  get  back  to  the  Eternal  Word  of  God  stripped  of  all  temporal  forms. 
The  other  is  essential  Catholicism, — the  attempt  to  bring  the  Word  of 
God  into  the  life  of  the  race  and  bless  it  thereby.  One  is  the  individual- 
istic, prophetic;  the  other,  the  universalistic,  the  traditional.  Both  are 
good  tendencies.  They  have  always  been  present  in  the  church.  They 
are  the  complements  of  each  other. 

Primitive  Christianity  was  the  first  historic  realization  of  the  Chris- 
tian principle.  It  had  the  advantage  of  all  others,  in  that  it  was  nearer 
the  source;  in  that  it  was  under  the  personal  direction  of  Jesus  and 
His  Apostles ;  in  that  it  had  the  special  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Here  enter  some  crucial  questions  in  the  determination  of  the  character 
of  the  original  church  and  its  normative  relation  to  other  periods.  In 
how  far  does  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  in  how  far  does  the  human  enter 
to  make  up  the  empirical  content  of  Primitive  Christianity?  Did  Jesus 
care  for  the  spirit,  merely,  and  leave  the  form  to  take  care  of  itself? 

Did  He  teach  His  Disciples  His  view  of  God,  His  view  of  the 
world,  i.  e..  His  religion,  to  have  faith;  then  send  them  out  with  th© 
impulse  to  take  the  world,  leaving  it  to  them  to  adapt  their  message  and 
work  to  the  forms  of  the  world  around, — or  did  He  anticipate  these 
forms  also,  and  fix  them  for  all  time?  In  how  far  may  Christianity  be 
said  to  have  taken  the  form  of  Judaism, — the  soil  from  which  it  grew  ? 
How  much  was  it  affected  by  the  limitations  of  the  Jewish  nation;  its 
racial  characteristics;  its  religious  inheritance?  What  in  Primitive 
Christianity  was  meant  to  be  a  norm  for  all  religion?  In  how  far  does 
Its  precedent  remain  a  rule  for  faith  and  practice  to-day  ? 

These  are  ground  problems  in  any  treatment  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. They  have  been  much  discussed  among  the  Disciples  of  Christ ; 
and  between  them  and  their  religious  neighbors.  I  leave  them  here,  as 
they  will  come  up  later ;  with  the  mere  distinction  between  the  Christian 
principle  and  its  historic  forms. 


Jewish   Christianity.  15 

Jewish  Christianity. 
In  the  Jewish  world  Christianity  found  historic  forms  ready  made 
for  it.  It  took  over  a  language  and  literature.  The  Old  Testament  be- 
came the  first  Bible  of  the  Christians.  Religious  rites  and  customs  were 
adapted  to  the  new  cause.  This  is  evident  from  the  analogy  of  the  Lord's 
Day  and  the  vSabbath,  of  baptism  and  the  Levitical  washings,  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  and  the  Passover  Feast.  The  new  institutions  were 
modeled  on  the  old.  Compare  the  Jerusalem  Church  and  the  Jewish 
Temple  service,  the  local  church  and  the  synagogue,  the  Apostolate  and 
the  Sanhedrim,  the  ministry  of  the  church  and  that  of  the  synagogue. 
Here  lies  patent  a  continuous  course  of  conflicts  in  the  history  of  Chris- 
tianity,— viz.,  between  its  historic  heritage  and  its  prophetic  spirit,  be- 
tween the  traditional  tendency  and  the  new  truths  ever  welling  up 
svithin  the  bosom  of  the  church.  The  Apostolic  Age  was  no  exception. 
It  was  not  a  period  of  ideal  peace  and  unity — a  golden  age,  as  many 
have  supposed.  There  were  conflicts,  divisions,  ill-feelings  as  now. 
These  arose  from  the  contradiction  of  the  Christian  Principle  with  the 
historic  Jewish  heritage.  They  appeared  in  two  forms: — (i)  Mosaism; 
(2)  Messianism. 

1 .  Should  the  Christians  keep  the  Law  ?  It  must  be  remembered 
that  the  Law  meant  a  concrete  mass  of  detail  regulations 
hedged  about  by  .the  traditions  of  the  Rabbis.  Various  an- 
swers were  made.  The  Judaizers  said,  "Yes,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  Gentile  converts  should  be  circumcised  and  keep  the 
Law."  Paul  said,  "No."  And  between  these  there  was  a 
mediating  party,  to  which  possibly  James  and  Peter  belonged, 
who  held  that  the  Jews  should  keep  the  Law,  but  that  Gen- 
tiles were  not  so  obligated.  The  Pauline  party  won  the 
victory,  but  this  was  due,  not  so  much  to  any  triumph  of  logic 
within  the  church,  as  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Roman  army.  When  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  keep  the 
Law,  its  importance  faded  from  sight. 

2.  The  Messianic  Hope  passed  through  a  like  crisis.  The 
Disciples  repeatedly  misunderstood  Jesus  upon  this  question 
during  his  ministry.  It  is  probable  that  they  were  not  wholly 
free  from  errors  as  to  the  Second  Coming  after  Pentecost. 
There  is  a  gradual  dropping  of  Jewish  Messianism  in  the 
Apostolic  writings.  In  Paul  it  is  an  early  note,  but  found  lit- 
tle place  in  the  major  epistles.  It  is  wholly  absent  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel.    It  lived  on  among  the  common  people  and 


15  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reeormation. 

sprang  up  in  the  Montanism  of  the  third  and  fourth  centuries. 
But  with  the  decay  of  the  Jewish  nation  it  became  a  minor 
note. 

Hence  the  important  fact  for  the  history  of  Christianity  in  the  first 
three  centuries  is  the  rejection  of  the  rehgion  of  Jesus  by  the  mass  of 
the  Jewish  people,  the  decadence  of  that  nation,  and  the  passing  over  of 
the  Gospel  treasure  to  the  Gentiles.  This  is  the  transition  from  Jewish 
Christianity  to  Greek  Christianity,  from  the  Jerusalem  Church  to  the 
Old  Catholic  Church,  from  Peter,  James,  Paul  and  John,  to  Clement, 
Origen,  Athanasius  and  the  Gregories. 

Two  media  may  be  mentioned  in  this  transition — Paulinism  and 
Hellenism.  Gentile  Christianity  was  the  product  of  Paul's  ministry.  It 
is  significant  that  his  doctrine  is  the  most  theological  in  form.  The  field 
m  which  Paul  worked  was  Hellenism — ^that  larger  world  of  Greek 
learning  which  had  spread  over  the  whole  eastern  half  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  Philo,  the  apostle  of  Hellenism,  had  made  a  union  of  the  He- 
brew Scriptures  and  the  Platonic  philosophy  by  means  of  the  allegorical 
method  of  interpretation.  This  was  incorporated  into  the  church  by  his 
successors — the  Alexandrine  fathers,  Clement,  Origen,  etc.  The  Apos- 
tles' Creed,  which  had  grown  up  from  the  Baptismal  Formula,  became 
the  text  for  future  theological  developments. 

The  Greek  Theology. 

What  form  should  the  Christian  Principle  take  in  the  Graeco-Ro- 
man  world?  Two  factors  must  be  taken  into  account  in  the  reply — the 
Christian  Principle  itself,  and  the  Weltanschauung  (view  of  the  world) 
incident  to  the  Greek  mind.  With  the  Jew  there  was  no  such  contrast. 
The  Gospel  was  set  in  the  forms  of  his  own  view  of  the  world.  But  the 
Greek  was  essentially  a  philosopher.  Behind  him  were  Socrates,  Plato, 
Aristotle,  the  Stoics  and  Epicureans.  He  had  a  made-out  scheme  of 
things.  This  was  simple  except  in  religious  matters.  Scepticism  had 
destroyed  the  power  of  the  old  myths.  The  Christian  missionary  found 
the  door  opened  for  him.  Many  Greeks  "turned  to  the  Lord  believing 
the  Gospel."  For  a  while  things  went  on  thus.  The  newly  made  con- 
vert held  the  two  apart — the  Greek  heathen  view  of  the  world  and  the 
Jewish-Christian  religious  life.  But  this  partition  could  not  last  inter- 
minably. The  human  mind  seeks  unity.  The  two  spheres  must  be  brought 
together.  Then  began  the  eternal  conflict  between  Philosophy  and 
Religion,  between  Science  and  Faith.  In  this  conflict  occurred  the  birth- 
throes  of  Theology.  It  was  the  mind's  attempt  to  harmonize,  to  interpret 
the  religious  experiences  of  the  heart  in  the  language  of  cool  thought,  to 
make  room  in  a  world  filled  with  things  and  events  for  the  invisible  God, 


The  Greek  Theoi^ogy.  17 

and  to  find  the  true  avenue  for  the  soul's  communion  with  Him. 

How,  then,  should  the  Greek  put  together  what  he  knew  as  a  Greek 
and  what  he  had  learned  as  a  Christian  ?  He  had  no  thought  of  giving 
up  the  former.  It  was  essential  to  his  mental  makeup.  The  latter  offered 
no  substitute.  It  dwelt  in  another  world.  The  two  poles  were  the  Greek 
metaphysics  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Worship  of  Jesus,  on  the  other. 
The  ruling  conception  of  the  former  was  the  Realism  of  Plato.  God  is 
the  Absolute  Reason.  This  is  pure  thought,  free  from  all  form.  It  finds 
expression  in  the  Logos.  The  Logos,  or  Word,  is  Reason  expressed, 
i.  e.,  in  its  most  universal  form.  This  is  further  differentiated  in  the 
ideas  (tSm).  The  Logos  is  the  universal  idea.  Other  ideas  are  the 
genera  and  species  under  this.  These  ideas  are  as  yet  disembodied  spirit, 
but  they  are  embodied  in  the  particular — in  things  of  the  world  of  matter, 
and  in  minds  of  the  world  of  spirit.  Knowledge  is  by  contact  of  the  two. 
It  recognizes  the  unity  back  in  the  Absolute  Reason.  Now,  the  Gospel 
was  made  to  fit  into  this  system  of  metaphysical  idealism.  The  Logos 
was  identified  zcifh  Jesus.  The  harmony  was  made  complete.  The  out- 
come after  much  conflict  was  the  two  Greek  dogmas, — the  Doctrine  of 
the  Trinity,  and  of  the  Twofold  Nature  of  Christ.  In  the  first  the  Son 
is  declared  to  be  oixoovmoi  tG  TrarpC  (of  the  same  substance  with 
the  Father),  and  in  the  second  Jesus  is  said  to  be  ofioovmo^  tw  TraTpl 
Kara  ttjv  OeorrjTa  /cat  o/AOovaios  rov  avrov  rjpXv  Kara  Trjv  dvOpwiroTrjTa  ( consub  - 
stantial  with  the  Father  according  to  the  Godhead  and  consubstantial 
with  us  according  to  the  Manhood).  Both  of  these  dogmas  are  meta- 
physical. They  pronounce  upon  the  nature  of  God  and  of  Christ. 
The  distinction  was  between  ovvui  and  vTroo-rao-t?,  substantia  and 
persona. 

These  dogmas  were  codified  in  the  councils  of  Nicaea  (325  A.  D.), 
of  Constantinople  (381),  and  of  Chalcedon  (451).  They  constituted  the 
bulk  of  the  Greek  Theology.  They  were  accepted  in  the  West.  When 
Luther  revolted  from  the  Roman  Church,  he  fell  back  on  them,  and 
thus  they  were  incorporated  into  Protestantism. 

The  Latin  Theology. 
With  the  decadence  of  the  eastern  half  of  the  Roman  Empire,  the 
heritage  of  Christianity  passed  over  to  Italy  and  the  West.  On  Latin 
soil  a  new  product  arose.  The  Latin  mind  was  practical  and  political. 
It  was  not  speculative.  It  was  filled  with  the  memory  of  the  glory  and 
grandeur  of  the  Roman  Empire.  The  new  product  was  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  the  successor  to  the  Empire. 

In  Latin  Theolog>^  there  is  but  one  great  name — Augustine.  There 
is  a  preparation  for  him  in  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Ambrose,  but  Augustine 


18  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

is  both  flower  and  fruitage  of  Latin  thought.     Five  elements  enter  to 
make  the  body  of  his  system : 

1.  The  PauHne  Gospel. 

2.  The  Greek  Theology, 
v/hose  dogmas  he  took  over. 

3.  Neo-Platonism — 

A  working  over  of  Platonism  by  means  of  Oriental  influences 
resulting  in  the  emanation  theory. 

4.  The  Roman  Law — 

Roman  legal  conceptions  which  came  down  through  Tertullian, 
Cyprian,  Ambrose. 

5.  Vulgar  Catholicism — 

Heathen  rites  and  mysteries  which  were  taken  over  into  the 
church,  and  became  the  basis  of  the  later  developments  of  the 

"mass"  and  *\vorks." 
Thus,  Augustine  was  a  great  personality  which  gathered  up  all  that 
preceded,  held  it  in  spite  of  apparent  contradictions,  and  became  the 
source  of  all  that  followed.  He  is  the  great  father  of  the  church — of  the 
Roman  Church,  whose  imperialism,  mysticism,  monasticism,  vulgar 
Catholicism,  came  bj  him ;  and  of  Protestantism  as  well.  Luther  found 
in  him  his  doctrine  of  Justification,  and  Calvin's  Predestination  was  but 
a  modified  Augustinianism. 

The  problem  of  Augustine  was  the  religious  one — the  relation  of 
man,  the  sinner,  to  God.  He  asked,  what  is  the  source,  nature  and  goal 
of  the  human  personality.  He  came  to  this  problem  as  a  Roman  with 
the  practical,  common  sense  mind.  He  lived  in  the  midst  of  the  break- 
down of  ancient  civilization,  saw  decay  written  all  around.  He  had  him- 
self lived  an  immoral  life  when  a  youth,  and  knew  the  awful  struggles 
between  good  and  evil  in  his  own  soul.  He  was  instructed  by  Paul,  and 
led  to  turn  away  from  the  vain  speculations  of  philosophy  to  the  heart  of 
the  matter  as  set  forth  in  the  Gospel.  It  was  his  beyond  all  others  to 
have  a  realizing  sense  of  man's  sin  and  to  produce  the  great  dogmas  of 
Latin  Christianity, — viz.,  those  grouping  about  Sin  and  Grace.  His 
points  were  as  follows: 

1 .  Adam — 

A  perfect  being.    This  is  in  reality  the  personification  of  one 
of  the  Platonic  ideas  and  not  the  Adam  of  the  Scriptures  at  all. 

2.  Adam's  Fall. 

3.  The  Corruption  of  the  Race. 

The  nature  of  fallen  Adam  is  carried  over  to  his  descendants 
— ^Traducianism.    This  is  "Original  Sin." 


The  Latin  Theology.  19 

4.  The  Gift  of  Christ. 

This  makes  possible  the  Grace.    It  is  not  developed  by  Augus- 
tine, but  is  later  taken  up  as  the  thesis  of  Anselm. 

5.  Baptismal  Regeneration — 

A  magical  infusion  of  grace  which  removes  the  guilt  of  "orig- 
inal sin." 

6.  Free  Grace. 

This  creates  in  man  all  faith  and  goodness,  over  against  which 
the  heathen  virtues  are  only  splendida  vitia. 

7.  The  Highest  Good — 

Meditation  on  God  (Adhserere  Deo). 
All  later  theology  deals  with  these  points.    How  can  God  and  man 
meet  in  salvation  ?    Three  answers  were  made. 

1.  Augustinianism. 

Man  can  do  nothing ;  all  is  of  grace ;  this  is  made  possible  by 
the  gift  of  Christ, — a  Determinism. 

2.  Pelagianism. 

Man  is  not  so  helpless ;  he  is  free ;  he  can  meet  God  half- 
way,— Indeterminism.    There  is  room  for  human  merit, 

3.  Semi-Pelagianism. 

A  combination  of  the  above.    All  is  of  grace  in  regeneration. 
Afterward  works  are  necessary  to  retain  the  saving  goods, — 
Synergism.    There  is  room  for  merit  within  the  church. 
After  Augustine  came  the  invasion  of  the  German  hordes.    Gregory 
the  Great  becomes  the  great  savior  of  the  Church  and  the  founder  of  the 
future  Papacy.    A  long  period  of  anarchy  ensues.    There  is  no  advance 
in  thought.    Only  the  personality  is  preparing  for  a  new  enlightenment. 
The  Scholastic  Theology. 
The  new  enlightenment  for  which  the  world  had  been  preparing  oc- 
curred in  the  Middle  Ages  ( 1000- 1250  A.  D.) .     On  the  soil  of  Mediaeval 
Europe  grew  up  a  new  dogmatic  product.     It  had  been  prepared  for  by 
the  feudal  system,  the  supremacy  of  the  Papacy,  the  intellectual  life  of 
the  universities,  and  the  religious  labors  of  the  monastic  orders.     This 
product  was  the  Scholastic  Theology.     Its  method  was  Scholasticism. 
Its  leaders  were  Scotus  Erigina,  Anselm,  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  Abelard, 
Thomas  Aquinas,  and  Duns  Scotus. 

Two  factors  enter  into  the  body  of  this  theology. 
I.     The  Traditions  (v/ritings)  of  the  Church 
These  are — 

a.  The  Holy  Scriptures. 

b.  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers — Augustine  is  foremost. 


20  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reformation 

c.     Lives  of  the  Saints,  etc. 
2.     The  Greek  Philosophy — 

( 1 )  Neo-Platonism — 

At  first  via  Scotus  Erigina. 

(2)  Aristotle — 

Through  a  translation  first  of  the  Logic,  later  of  both 
Logic  and  Metaphysics. 
The  first  factor  gave  the  matter  for  theology ;  the  second,  its 
method — the  Aristotelian  logic.  The  Church  said,  "Deus  homo  fit." 
Scholasticism  asked,  "Cur  Deus  homo?"  A  division  was  made  between 
Natural  and  Revealed  Theology.  Natural  Theology  was  what  reason 
could  give — as  the  existence  of  God,  his  power,  etc.  Revealed  Theology 
comes  through  the  Church.  Its  motto  was:  ''Credo  ut  intelligam." 
Assensus  (assent)  is  faith.  The  theologian  goes  as  far  with  Natural 
Theology  as  he  can,  then  Revelation  steps  in.  Philosophy  is  the  hand- 
maid to  Theology. 

The  new  problems  are — (i)  The  Atonement ;  (2)  The  Church. 
I .     Atonement. 

Anselm  took  the  problem  of  the  Atonement  over  from 
Augustine.  Augustine  said,  the  gift  of  Christ  makes 
Grace  possible.  Anselm  shows  how.  It  is  by  way  ol  his 
Satisfaction  Theory.  In  Adam's  fall  man  has  sinned.  God 
must  have  satisfaction.  As  a  sin  against  an  infinite  God, 
it  is  infinite  and  must  have  an  infinite  punishment.  How 
can  man  escape  and  satisfaction  be  made?  Man  cannot 
make  it  himself,  yet  he  must.  It  is  his  sin.  God  alone 
can.  The  dilemma  is  solved  in  the  God-man.  As  God  he 
can  pay  the  debt ;  as  man  it  is  of  avail  for  the  race.  Be- 
cause he  was  blameless,  he  had  no  debt  of  his  own.  As  a 
free-will  sacrifice,  his  act  was  infinitely  meritorious.  God 
must  reward  it,  yet  He  cannot.  The  God-man  has  all  full- 
ness before.  He  gives  the  benefits  over  to  his  fellow-men. 
This  is  the  store  of  merit  which  men  receive  in  relation 
with  Christ. 
The  premises  of  this  theory  are  evident : 

a.  The  Satisfaction  which  punishment  renders  for  sin. 
Man  takes  from  God  his  due — perfect  obedience.  God 
must  retaliate.  He  takes  from  man  what  is  his — happiness. 
God's  honor  is  offended.  His  magnanimity  steps  in  to 
avoid  the  disastrous  results.  The  background  of  the  doc- 
trine is  the  Chivalry  of  the  times. 


The  Scholastic  Theology.  21 

b.  The  dogma  of  the  Twofold  Nature  of  Christ — ^the 
God-man. 

In  the  argument  the  fallacy  of  the  divided  middle  term  occurs 
several  times. 

c.  The  notion  of  Solidarity — God,  God-man,  man.  This 
is  from  the  Platonic  Realism  and  does  not  agree  with  the 
modern  conception  of  personality. 

Yet  Anselm  set  the  problem  for  all  time.  It  was  a  great 
advance  over  the  conception  of  a  ransom  from  the  Devil,  or 
the  theory  of  God's  veracity.  He  brought  in  the  ethical  ele- 
ment. Who  can  solve  the  antinomy  between  Justice  and  Mercy 
in  the  Divine  Nature  ?  Aquinas  with  his  Federal  theory.  Duns 
Scotus  with  his  Acceptilation  theory,  Grotius  with  his  Gov- 
ernmental theory,  only  build  upon  Anselm's  naive  but  real  foun- 
dation. 
2.     The  Church. 

Thomas  Aquinas  presents  the  dogma  of  the  church  in  its 
fullest  development.     He  is  seized  with  the  imperial  idea — 
Papal  Absolutism.     In  him  the  Vulgar  Catholicism  comes  to 
its  triumph.    The  Church  mediates  Grace.     It  is  the  vicar  of 
God  on  earth.    It  is  the  incarnation  of  Deity  in  various  degrees 
of  fullness.    The,  order  of  ascendancy  is — Papacy,  hierarchy, 
laity.    The  church  possesses  the  store  of  the  merits  of  Christ 
and  of  the  Saints.    Christ  is  offered  continually  in  the  miracle 
of  the  mass.     The  individual  appropriates  the  Grace  through 
the  "works"  demanded  of  him.    This  Church  is  declared  to  be 
"One,  Holy,  Catholic  and  Apostolic." 
Aquinas  marks  the  culmination  of  dogmas  and  their  co-ordination 
in  a  system  of  theology  (Summa  Theologise) .    Then  began  the  breaking- 
up  of  dogma,  which  lasted  throughout  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  cen- 
turies and  in  the  sixteenth  century  issued  in  the  three-fold  partition: 
(i)     Tridentine  Catholicism ;  (2)  Socinianism ;  (3)  Protestantism. 

Duns  Scotus  is  the  critic  and  skeptic  through  whom  most  of  the 
dissolution  is  accomplished.  Scholasticism  was  founded  upon  the  thesis 
that  God  was  Absolute  Reason,  and  sought  to  find  the  truth  by  analysis 
and  syllogism.  Scotus  said  that  God  is  lihenim  arhitrium  (Free  Will). 
He  magnified  impulse,  action,  as  against  the  rationalizing  process.  The 
world  had  grown  tired  of  the  refinements  of  Scholasticism  and  had 
begun  to  distrust  the  reasoning  powers.  All  parties  hastened  to  accept 
the  principles  of  Scotus. 


22  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reeormation. 

1.  Tridentine  Catholicism. 

First  among  these  was  the  Papal  Party.  Scotus  was  a  loyal 
son  of  the  Church  and  labored  in  its  behalf.  If  God  is  prima- 
rily Will,  that  will  is  known  through  the  Church.  The  Church 
mediates  the  Word  of  God.  This  is  identified  with  the  rules 
and  practices  of  the  Church.  These  are  under  the  care  of  the 
hierarchy.  Instead  of  dogma,  we  have  a  dogma-politik.  The 
Church  becomes  the  one  dogma  and  is  jealous  of  any  other. 
This  is  illustrated  in  the  Council  of  Trent.  The  Papal  Party 
did  not  want  the  Council  called.  When  it  was  forced  upon 
them,  they  did  not  want  to  formulate  a  creed.  The  creed  when 
formed  was  ambiguous  in  character.  They  wanted  to  leave 
the  hierarchy  free  in  all  matters  of  doctrine  and  practice.  The 
culmination  of  this  course  was  the  Council  of  the  Vatican 
(1870),  which  set  forth  the  doctrine  of  Papal  Infallibility — 
"that  the  Roman  Pontiff,  when  he  speaks  ex  cathedra,  that  is, 
when  in  discharge  of  the  office  of  pastor  and  doctor  of  all 
Christians,  by  virtue  of  his  supreme  Apostolic  authority,  he  de- 
fines a  doctrine  regarding  faith  or  morals  to  be  held  by  the 
universal  Church,  by  the  divine  assistance  promised  to  him  in 
blessed  Peter,  is  possessed  of  that  infallibility  with  which  the 
divine  Redeemer  willed  that  his  Church  should  be  endowed 
for  defining  doctrine  regarding  faith  or  morals ;  and  that,  there- 
fore, such  definitions  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs  are  irreformable 
of  themselves  and  not  from  the  consent  of  the  Church." 
(Schaff — Creeds  of  Christendom,  II.  p.  270).  Henceforth  there 
is  no  need  of  Councils  or  dogma. 

2.  The  Ultra-Reformation. 

There  had  all  along  been  elements  in  the  Church  which  were 
hostile  to  the  claims  of  the  hierarchy.  These  took  refuge  in 
the  practical  piety  of  the  church  and  lived  apart  from  its  dog- 
mas. They  were  the  disciples  of  the  ''inner  light,'*  ^'seekers 
after  God" — the  mystics,  the  forerunners  of  the  Anabaptists. 
Alongside  were  others  who  found  their  truth  in  the  Natural 
Theology,  who  pitted  reason  against  the  church  ;  as  yet  a  smoul- 
dering flame,  but  ready  to  break  out  when  the  wind  stirred — 
the  Rationalists,  the  forerunners  of  Socinianism.  Duns  Scotus 
too  prepared  the  way  for  these.  If  God  is  Will,  this  is  not 
known  through  the  church,  but  through  my  will,  my  impulses, 
my  insight.  Here  appears  the  sense  of  the  growing  Individu- 
alism, which  is  to  play  so  great  a  part  in  modern  civilization. 


Thk  Scholastic  Theology.  23 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  the  collective  will,  the  universal,  was 
everything.  There  was  little  sense  of  personality,  or  of  the 
rights  of  the  individual.  The  so-called  Ultra-Reformation  was 
Individualism  carried  to  the  extreme.  Luther  turned  against 
his  Anabaptist  followers,  Carlstadt  and  IVfunzer,  with  ferocity. 
Calvin  opposed  Servetus  and  Faustus  Socinus  with  all  his 
might. 
The  Reformation. 

The  Reformation  proper  is  seen  in  Martin  Luther.    Luther 
was  a  combination  of  the  two — 

a.  The  religious  sense. 

A  conviction  of  sin  which  allows  the  absolute  domination 
of  any  system  which  gives  relief  to  the  conscience.  Hence, 
the  power  of  the  Roman  Church  over  him. 

b.  The  growing  Individualism, 

which  shakes  off  all  human  mediation  in  the  attempt  to 

know  God  for  itself. 
The  Reformation  grew  out  of  the  heart  experiences  of  this 
humble  monk.    At  first  he  sought  relief  in  the  Church.     He  set 
out  to  make  a  conquest  of  heaven.     If  anything  was  to  be 
gained  by  "works,"  he  was  determined  to  have  it.     He  sub- 
mitted himself  to  all  the  penances,  and  practices  of  the  most 
rigid  monastic  order,  but  still  he  did  not  find  peace.     He  sought 
a  satisfaction  which  the  Church  could  not  give — one  for  him- 
self,  an  individual  assurance.     How  could  he  know  he  had 
made  satisfaction ;  i.  e.  was  ^'justified  before  God?"    This  led 
him  to  the  larger  question — "How  can  a  sinner  be  justified  be- 
fore God?"     He  had  tried  the  "works"  of  the  Church.     They 
were  not  sufficient.  He  searched  everywhere  for  help.    He  read 
Tauler.    Staupitz  advised  him  to  read  Augustine.  He  got  some 
relief.     He  saw  the  sentence  in  the  creed:     "I  believe  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sins."    Then  he  fell  back  on  Paul — "The  just 
shall  live  by  faith,"  and  brought  out  his  great  principle,  Justiii' 
cation  by  Faith.     God  has  revealed  his  grace  in  Jesus  Christ. 
A  sinner  is  justified  solely  through  faith  in   Christ.     There 
are  no  "works"  of  merit.     All  is  reliance  on  God's  grace  in 
Jesus  Christ.         The  core  of  the  Christian  religion  is  a  living 
faith  in  a  living  God  who  has  revealed  Himself  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Objectively  there  is  the  person  and  work  of  Christ — the  his- 
torical factor.     Subjectively,  all  is  Faith.     This  new  yet  old 
gospel  of  Luther  spread  like  wildfire.     It  found  ready  response 


24  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reformation. 

in  the  awakening  life  of  a  new  age.     The  outcome  was  Pro- 
testantism with  its  cardinal  dogma — Justification  by  Faith. 
Protestant    Theology. 
Protestant  Theology  is  based  on  three  principles : 

1.  The  Material  Principle — Justification  by  Faith. 

This  is  in  antithesis  to  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  meritorious 
"works."  Salvation  is  through  grace  by  faith.  Faith  is  the 
true  approach  to  God.  It  is  all  that  is  required.  The  moral 
life  flows  therefrom  as  the  stream  from  its  source.  It  is  a 
matter  of  religious  experience.  It  is  the  sense  of  sonship,  of 
inner  and  immediate  relation  to  God. 

2.  The  Formal  Principle — the  Authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  Roman  Church  held  to  a  manifold  literature — Scripture, 
the  Fathers,  creeds,  lives  of  saints — all  of  which  were  tradi- 
tionally authoritative.  The  Reformers  limited  the  authority 
to  the  Holy  Scriptures.  ''The  Bible,  and  the  Bible  only,  is  the 
religion  of  Protestants." 

3.  The  Social  Principle — The  Universal  Priesthood  of  all  Believers. 

This  is  placed  over  against  the  claims  of  the  hierarchy. 
There  is  to  be  no  mediation.  Each  conscience  is  free  before 
God. 

Thus,  Protestantism  was  a  return  to  the  Christian  Principle  effected 
by  a  new  religious  experience  in  use  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

It  developed  in  three  periods : 

I.     The  First  Generation. 

This  was  the  Reformation  proper.  It  em.braced  Luther, 
Melanchton,  Zwingli,  in  their  earlier  lives.  This  early  ground 
was  receded  from  because  of  the  extremes  of  the  Anabaptists. 
The  Reformers  really  joined  the  Catholics  in  a  common  oppo- 
sition to  this  false  subjectivism.  They  fell  back  on  the  Greek 
dogmas.  These  are  the  first  articles  of  their  creeds.  Here 
Zwingli  remained  firmest  on  the  original  ground.  This  period 
was  marked  by  but  one  principle — the  Material,  Justification 
by  Faith. 

The  proof  of  this  is  the  literature  of  the  period.  Luther's  posi- 
tion grew  out  of  his  own  religious  experiences.  His  appeal  was 
to  this,  and  only  to  the  Scriptures  as  the  interpreter  of  the  expe- 
rience. He  assumed  a  soniewhat  independent  attitude  to  the 
Scriptures  and  dealt  with  them  freely.  For  instance,  he  called 
the  Epistle  of  James  a  "book  of  straw,"  because  it  did  not 
teach  his  doctrine  of  Justification.     In  Melanchton's  "Loci" 


Protestant  Theou)gy.  25 

(First  Edition  1521),  the  Scriptures  are  placed  alongside  of 
the  Fathers  as  the  literature  of  the  church,  and  not  in  a  sepa- 
rate category.  In  the  Augsburg  Confession — The  first  Pro- 
testant creed  (1530)— the  order  of  articles  is  (i)  God;  (2) 
Original  Sin;  (3)  The  Son  of  God;  (4)  Justification,  etc. 
There  is  no  article  on  the  Holy  Scriptures.  (S chaff —Creeds  of 
Christendom,  vol.  III.,  p.  7)'. 

2.  The  Second  Generation. 

In  this  period  affairs  have  changed.  This  is  seen  in  the  For- 
mula of  Concord  (1576).  The  preface  to  this  creed  is  upon 
the  "rule  and  norm"  of  truth,  which  is  declared  to  be  the 
writings  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments"  (Schaff — Creeds, 
III.,  pp.  93-95).  The  articles  are  stated  as  drawn  from  these 
Scriptures.  The  Galilean  Confession,  a  creed  written  by  Cal- 
vin (1559)  is  another  instance.  Article  I.  is  on  God.  Arti- 
cle II.  is  as  follows: 

"As  such  this  God  reveals  himself  to  men;  firstly,  in  his 
works,  in  their  creation  as  well  as  in  their  preservation  and 
control.  Secondly,  and  more  clearly,  in  his  Word,  which 
was  in  the  beginning  revealed  through  oracles,  and  which 
was  afterward  committed  to  writing  in  the  books  which  we 
call  Holy  Scriptures." 

Article  III.  names  the  books  which  are  to  be  accepted  as 
canonical  (Schafif — Creeds,  vol.  III.  p.  360.)  In  fact^  this  is 
the  period  of  Calvin.  The  two  principles — the  Authority  of  the 
Scriptures  and  Justification  by  Faith — are  formulated  and  ap- 
pear side  by  side.  But  the  Formal  Principle  is  placed  first  in 
order,  even  if  as  yet  it  has  not  the  chief  place.  The  Social 
Principle  has  been  relegated  to  the  background.  This  is  due 
to  the  rise  of  the  Anabaptists,  against  whom  a  damnatory 
clause  is  to  be  found  in  the  creeds  of  the  period.  The  cause 
of  the  change  to  this  ground  was  the  purpose  of  defence.  The 
Protestant  apologists  set  over  against  the  authority  of  the 
Church  and  the  Fathers,  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
Bible  is  declared  to  be  the  Word  of  God.  Thus,  the  Reforma- 
tion claimed  an  authority  prior  in  age  and  equal  in  dignity  to 
that  of  their  Catholic  opponents.  Their  cry,  as  Chillingsworth 
at  last  stated  it,  cam.e  to  be,  "The  Bible,  and  the  Bible  only,  is 
the  religion  of  Protestants." 

3.  Post-Reformation  Scholasticism,  or  Elder  Orthodoxy. 

This  was  the  period  of  decadence.     It  was  inevitable.    The 


26  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

Reformation  occurred  on  the  soil  of  western  Latin  Christianity. 
It  was  a  new  religious  experience.  The  eternal  conflict  of  the 
new  Christian  experience  and  the  old  Weltanschauung  was 
renewed.  At  first  the  reformers  led  the  revolt  against  the  tra- 
ditional philosophy.  Luther  was  a  Humanist.  He  was  bred  in 
the  Renaissance  movement.  As  such  he  translated  the  Bible 
into  the  vernacular.  He  hated  Aristotle.  Melanchton,  how- 
ever, though  at  first  under  Luther's  influence,  fell  back  more 
and  more  into  the  Aristotelian  method.  This  is  significant,  in 
that  he  was  the  scholar  of  the  Reformation.  The  impetus  thus 
given  was  readily  taken  up  by  others.  Soon  Scholasticism 
was  back  again  as  the  method  of  Protestant  Theology.  This 
was  unavoidable.  The  Reformation  had  brought  with  it  no 
new  philosophy  and  logic.  The  Individualism  of  which  it  was 
born  was  as  yet  mainly  sub-conscious.  In  the  realm  of  relig- 
ion this  spirit  had  found  its  first  expression.  Luther's  asser- 
tion of  the  soul's  direct  communion  with  God — ^the  Social  Prin- 
ciple— was  a  beautiful  flowering  of  the  principle  of  the  Auton- 
omy of  the  Reason,  But  in  the  excesses  of  the  Anabaptists 
this  principle  was  crushed  to  the  ground.  It  had  to  await  a 
far  later  time  for  reappearing — viz.,  in  politics  in  the  time  of 
Cromwell  and  in  the  French  Revolution ;  in  philosophy,  in  the 
persons  of  Locke  and  Kant. 

This  period  can  be  understood  only  when  the  apologetic  and 
polemic  attitude  of  Protestant  Theology  is  borne  in  mind.  It 
IS  the  period  of  the  great  religious  wars.  By  the  valor  of  the 
warriors  for  truth,  the  Roman  Catholic  theologians  were  met  on 
their  own  ground.  The  Aristotelian  logic  was  used  to  defend 
the  Bible  as  it  had  been  to  defend  the  Church.  The  great  sys- 
tems of  Gerhard,  Hollaz,  Quenstedt,  Calov,  appear.  There 
is  only  one  principle — the  Formal.  This  is  converted  into  a 
theological  canon.  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  the  source  of  the 
super  naturally  revealed  truths  of  theology.  This  theology  was 
made  a  means  of  salvation  in  itself.  It  was  a  vision  of  God. 
The  Bible  was  not  interpreted  historically,  but  the  dogmas  were 
read  into  it.  It  was  made  a  law-book  of  homogeneous  value 
for  faith  and  practice.     It  was  identified  with  the  Word  of  God. 

The  outcome  is  seen  in  the  Dogmas  accepted  among  Pro- 
testants.     These  are : 
I ) .    The  Greek  dogmas — 


Protestant  Theology.  27 

a.  The  Trinity ; 

b.  The  Twofold  Nature  of  Christ. 

This  is  elaborated  into  a  new  Christology  conformable  to 
the  Protestant  doctrine  of  the  Sacraments. 
2).     The  Latin  dogmas — Sin  and  Grace  as  transformed  into 

the  doctrine  of  Predestination. 
3).     The  Mediaeval  dogma — the  Atonement. 

(The  dogma  of  the  Church  was  denied.) 
4).     New  dogmas — 

a.  Justification  by  Faith : 

b.  Authority  of  the  Scriptures. 

These  are  the  principal  products  of  the  Reformation. 

c.  The  Inspiration  of  the  Bible. 

This  stated  in  brief  is,  that  the  record  of  Revelation  found 
in  the  Bible  zvas  edited  by  God  himself.  Three  conceptions 
enter  into  this  dogma  (See  Kaftan,  The  Truth  of  the 
Christian  Religion,  vol.  i.,  p.  200). 

(a).     Revelation. 
God  has  revealed  himself  in  many  ways,  especially  by  his 
Word.    This  Word  was  first  orally  pronounced. 

(b) .     Scripture. 
Afterward  the  Word  was  committed  to  writing  or  at  least 
the  most  important  parts  of  it.    For  us  who  do  not  live  in 
the  time  of  the  oral  revelation,  this  Scripture  is  the  Word 
of  God. 

(c).  But  this  is  not  sufficient  guarantee  for  the  infallible 
authority  of  the  Scriptures.  In  the  work  of  committing 
to  writing,  who  made  the  proper  selection,  whose  memory 
was  trustworthy  enough  to  retain  the  divine  words  iner- 
rant  ?  Could  this  be  left  to  natural  human  means  ?  The 
answer  is  the  doctrine  of  Inspiration.  God  through  his 
Holy  Spirit  oversees  the  whole  process  and  vouches  for 
every  result. 

(d).  Infallibility  is  thus  secured. 
This  dogma  of  Inspiration  is  the  peculiar  product  of  the 
Post-Reformation  Scholasticism.  It  may  be  said  by  some 
that  there  had  always  been  a  doctrine  of  inspiration.  This 
is  true,  but  not  in  the  Protestant  sense.  With  the  Cath- 
olics the  Church  is  inspired.  It  is  infallible.  Any  author- 
ity which  the  Bible  has  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  one 


28  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

of  the  traditional  writings  of  the  Church.     On  the  other 
hand,  Protestantism  made  the  Bible  the  seat  of  authority. 
This  can  be  only  if  the  Bible  is  wholly  divine — Verbal  In- 
spiration.    This  is  the  crowning  dogma  of  Protestantism. 
It  is  the  crucial  question  for  Protestant  theology.     It  re- 
mains unsolved  to  this  day. 
The  two  great  divisions  of  Protestantism  are  the  Lutheran  and  the 
Reformed  Churches.    These  are  due  to  many  causes,  chief  among  which 
are  the  national  differences.     The  Lutheran  Church  is  of  German  ori- 
gin— Luther;  the  Reformed,  of  Swiss  French — Zwingli,  Calvin.     They 
were  two  independent  movements.     In  those  days  the  Union  tendency 
was  not  strong  enough  for  a  formal  union.     At  the  Marburg  Confer- 
ence (1529)  the  leaders  agreed  on  fourteen  and  a  half  of  the  fifteen 
propositions.     But  Luther  refused  the  hand  to  Zwingli,  who  was  willing 
to  compromise,  and  nothing  was  effected. 
The  doctrinal  differences  were  mainly : 

1.  On  the  Eucharist. 

Luther  held  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Real  Presence  (Consub- 
stantiation)  ;  Calvin  to  that  of  the  Spiritual  Presence;  Zwingli 
that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  merely  a  memorial. 

2.  On  Predestination. 

Luther  was  an  Augustinian,  but  did  not  make  the  doctrine 
prominent;  Melanchton  was  a  Synergist;  his  later  views  ap- 
proached those  of  the  Catholics;  while  Calvin  made  Predesti- 
nation the  central  doctrine  of  his  system. 

3.  On  the  Principles  of  Protestantism. 

The  Lutheran  Church  rested  upon  the  Material  Principle.    It 
affirmed  the  freedom  of  the  child  of  God.     It  was  a  reaction 
against  the  Judaism  of  the  Roman  Church.     The  Reformed 
Church  builded  upon  the  Formal  Principle.     The  Scriptures 
are  the  rule  of  faith  and  practice.     It  asserts  the  ethical  purity 
of  the  Christian  life.     It  was  the  reaction  against  the  pagan- 
ism of  Catholicism.     It  was  Puritanism.     This  church  spread 
•  throughout    Switzerland,    France,     Holland,     Scotland    and 
America. 
Between  the  two  above  are  to  be  noted  the  mediating  churches. 
These  are : 

I.     The  German  Reformed  Church. 

This  is  the  church  of  the  Palatinate.  Philip  of  Hesse,  its 
landgrave,  favored  union  at  the  beginning.  Melanchton  be- 
came the  ruling  theologian  in  this  province.     Bucer,  a  friend 


Protestant  Theology.  29 

to  all  parties,  was  the  founder  of  this  church.     Its  positions 
are  set  forth  in  the  Heidelberg  Catechism — a  symbol  of  fer- 
vent piety  and  of  religious  worth. 
2.    The  Anglican. 


CHAPTER  II. 

I.    Covenant  TheoIvOGy. 

The  preparation  of  the  Protestant  World  for  the  Current  Refor- 
mation was  made  by  two  preceding  movements;  one  in  the  realm  of 
theology,  the  other  in  that  of  philosophy.  The  first  of  these  was  the 
Covenant  Theology  of  the  Netherlands.  This  gave  the  fundamental 
theological  category  to  the  Campbells  and  their  co-laborers.  The  sec- 
ond was  the  philosophy  of  John  Locke,  which  gave  them  their  theory 
of  knowledge.  By  the  use  of  these  methods,  they  did  all  their  thinking, 
and  found  a  ready  understanding  in  the  popular  American  mind.  Let 
us  trace  in  brief  the  genesis,  growth,  products  of  each  of  these  factors ; 
and  show,  if  possible,  their  influence  on  the  leaders  of  the  Current  Re- 
formation. 

I. 

THE   COVENANT   THEOLOGY. 

The  so-called  Dutch  or  Covenant  Theology  is  represented  by  a 
school  in  the  Netherlands  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Its  leaders  were 
Coccejus,  Heidanus,  Momma,  Burman,  Van  Til  and  Witsius.  Asso- 
ciated with  them  was  Grotius,  the  statesman.  This  school  sprang  up  on 
the  soil  of  the  Reformed  Church.  It  was  one  of  a  series  of  reactions 
against  the  scholastic  spirit  as  applied  to  the  main  tenet  of  that  Church ; 
viz.:  Predestination.  Calvin  had  been  the  great  defender  of  Protest- 
antism. Over  against  the  Romanist  doctrine  of  merit  by  human  works 
he  set  his  dogma  of  Predestination.  This  was  a  thoroughgoing  deter- 
minism. Everything  happens  according  to  the  Divine  decrees.  These 
are  eternal  and  unchangeable,  and  fix  the  course  of  events  and  the  des- 
tinies of  men.     They  are  twofold : 

( 1 )  A  Decree  of  Election ; 

by  which  a  part  of  the  human  race  without  any  merit  of  their 
own  are  chosen  to  eternal  life. 

(2)  A  Decree  of  Reprobation; 

by  which  another  part,  as  a  just  punishment  of  their  sin,  are 
left  to  eternal  damnation. 
This  negative  counterpart  of  Election  proved  to  be  the  stumbling- 
block  of  Calvinism.     Calvin  confessed  it  to  be  a  "decretum  horrible," 

30 


The  Covenant  Theoi^ogy.  31 

but  held  that  it  was  nevertheless  true.  He  appealed  to  God's  Will; 
which  is  always  holy  and  unblameable,  though  inscrutable.  But  the 
question  came:  How  far  do  the  decrees  apply?  It  was  agreed  that 
they  applied  to  all  events  of  the  fallen  race;  that  all  faith,  goodness 
and  holiness  of  sinful  men  are  not  the  cause  or  condition  but  the  effect 
of  Election.  But  was  the  fall  of  Adam  to  be  included?  Did  God  de- 
cree that  man  should  sin ;  or  did  He  only  permit  the  sin,  so  that  the 
decrees  entered  after  the  Fall?  The  first  is  Supralapsarianism ;  the 
second  Infra-  (or  Sub-)  lapsarianism.  Calvin  wavered  between  the 
two,  but  inclined  to  the  former ;  while  Beza,  Gomar  and  others,  true  to 
their  master's  logic,  took  the  extreme  position.  They  said :  "God  has 
a  double  fore-ordination, — for  the  manifestation  of  His  mercy  in  the 
elect  and  of  His  justice  in  the  reprobate;  call  Him  the  Author  of  sin 
if  you  like,  it  is  true."  But  the  masses  shrank  back  from  this  harsh 
dogma.  It  was  never  embodied  in  any  of  the  leading  creeds  of  the 
Reformed  Church. 

Soon  there  began  movements  for  the  mitigation  of  the  doctrine. 
The  first  of  these  was  the  school  of  Saumur,  viz. :  La  Place,  Cappel, 
Amyraut  and  other  French  scholars.  These  distinguished  between  a 
universal  and  a  particular  predestination.  By  the  first,  God  wills  that 
all  men  be  saved ;  but  this  is  made  particular  only  in  those  who  do  not 
reject  the  universal  grace.  The  positions  of  this  school  were  not  very 
clear  or  consistent.  They  were  seeking  to  grant  some  human  part  in 
the  work  of  salvation.  They  caused  great  commotion  in  the  French 
Church ;  but  after  a  time  peace  was  agreed  upon  and  the  controversy 
subsided. 

But  the  fire  soon  broke  out  in  a  new  place.  James  Arminius  ap- 
peared in  the  Netherlands,  a  convert  to  the  doctrine  of  universal  grace. 
Joined  with  this,  he  held  to  the  freedom  of  the  will.  Thus  arose  Armin- 
ianism,  whose  Five  Points  were  condemned  at  the  Synod  of  Dort  (1619) 
but  found  supporters  among  those  high  in  the  political  circles  of  the 
country;  as  Barneveld,  Hugo  Grotius  and  others.  This  movement 
spread  into  England ;  entered  non-religious  circles  and  produced  marked 
effects  in  the  history  of  modern  ethics.  Arminianism  presented  the 
doctrine  of  Conditional  Predestination !  God  has  decreed  to  save  those 
who  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the 
same  grace  persevere  to  the  end.  It  was  not  so  different  from  Calvin- 
ism after  all ;  which,  to  use  a  Kantian  phrase,  was  an  a  priori  determin- 
ism, while  Arminianism  v/as  an  a  posteriori  determinism;  one  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  not  by  the  decree ;  one  in  experience  and  resistible  as 
such.     Thus  room  was  made  for  human  responsibility. 


32  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

At  this  juncture  the  Covenant  Theology  came  in.  Many  thinkers 
had  been  feeHng  their  way  in  this  direction  in  their  efforts  to  solve  the 
antinomy  of  Calvinism ;  but  the  first  to  give  it  clear  and  definite  state- 
ment was  the  Netherlander  Johannes  Kock  (Coccejus).  Born  at  Bre- 
men, 1603,  he  passed  through  the  schools  of  his  country  and  came  finally 
to  Franeker,  where  he  received  his  theological  education.  Here  he 
was  under  the  instruction  of  Amesius,  the  noted  English  divine,  and 
Amama,  the  great  Orientalist.  Here  also  he  met  Grotius,  the  states- 
man. He  went  forth  as  a  linguist,  and  taught  Biblical  philology  at 
Bremen  (1630),  at  Franeker  (1636)  ;  whence,  for  some  notable  work 
in  the  dogmatic  field,  he  was  called  to  be  Professor  of  Theology  at  Ley- 
den  (1650),  which  position  he  held  until  his  death  in  1669.  He  at- 
tained fame  as  an  exegete,  wrote  some  two  dozen  commentaries  and 
was  the  first  to  lay  down  the  principle  that  the  meaning  of  a  word  is  to 
be  ascertained  from  its  context.  He  broke  from  the  orthodox  fashion 
of  reading  the  dogmas  into  the  text  and  tried  to  restore  the  historical 
sense  of  the  Scriptures.  He  thus  made  the  first  attempt  at  a  biblical 
theology.  In  1648  he  published  his  greatest  work — 
"De  Foedere  et  Testamento  Dei." 
The  title  of  this  b®ok  shov/s  the  category  which  he  applied  all  along 
the  line  in  his  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures.  Let  us  make  a  brief 
synopsis  of  the  book. 

Coccejus,  in  beginning,  seeks  to  disclose  the  meaning  of  his  term — 
not  by  definition,  but  by  citations  from  the  Scriptures  (Chapter  I). 
Thus:  "an  agreement  (conventio)  concerning  peace  and  friendship, 
either  before  or  after  war"  is  called  a  covenant  (foedus).  Such  a  cov- 
enant Abraham  made  v/ith  Mamre  (Gen.  14:13).  Such  is  the  agree- 
ment between  man  and  wife  (Mai.  2:14)  (Sec.  i).  Thus,  a  covenant 
is  made  with  just  and  equal  stipulations  and  sworn  promises  from 
both  parties  (Sec.  2)  ;  for  in  a  covenant  there  are  both  precepts  and 
promises.  So  God  makes  his  covenant  by  presenting  a  law  and  the 
promise  annexed  to  the  law,  and  thus  he  invites  to  the  assent  to  the  law 
and  to  the  expectation  of  the  promise  (Sec.  3).  It  is  a  hiaOrjKr,  rather 
than  a  (twO^Ikyj  (Sec.  4).  For  the  covenant  of  God  with  men  (Foedus 
Dei  cum  homine)  is  not  as  those  of  men  with  one  another.  Men  make 
covenants  for  mutual  benefits,  but  God  has  his  own  purpose,  viz.,  to  de- 
clare the  plan  by  which  His  love  is  perceived,  and  union  and  communion 
with  Him  is  made  possible  (Sec.  5).  Thus,  the  covenant  is  fiovoTrXtvpov 
(one-sided).  God  lays  down  all  the  terms  (Sec.  6).  This  covenant  is 
twofold :  Foedus  Operum  et  Foedus  Gratiae  (a  Covenant  of  Works  and 
a  Covenant  of  Grace).     In  these  the  Scriptures  contrast  two  ways  of 


The  Covenant  Theoix)gy.  33 

obtaining  righteousness  and  happiness.  They  are,  hence,  called  two 
laws— Lex  Operum  et  Lex  Fidei,  Rom,  3:27  (Sec.  11).  The  covenant 
of  works  is  set  forth  in  Gal.  3:12,  10.  ''What  things  a  man  doeth  he 
shall  live  in  them."  "Cursed  is  everyone  which  continueth  not  in  all 
the  things  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them."  It  has  three 
elements : 

(i)     Lex  (Law). 

which  shows  the  plan  for  the  appropriation  of  the  divine  love 

and  benefits. 

(2)  Promissio  (Promise) 

which  joins  these  with  that  plan. 

(3)  Comminatio  (threat) 

which  excludes  all  other  plans  and  ways  to  the  highest  good 
and  indicates  the  necessary  consequence  of  punishment  for  sin. 

(Sec.  12). 

In  the  case  of  Adam  the  covenant  was  not  written  in  a  book,  for 
Adam  being  upright  and  in  the  image  of  God,  it  was  written  on  the 
tablets  of  the  heart.  It  was  the  law  of  nature  (Lex  Naturae),  or  of 
conscience  by  which  Adam  naturally  knew  what  was  right,  and  which 
remains  in  the  fallen  man.  The  Decalogue  is  identical  with  this  Lex 
Naturae.  It  is  the  Foedus  Operum  in  a  written  form  (Sec.  13).  This 
covenant  requires  perfect  obedience.  The  reward  for  this  obedience 
was  life,  the  punishment  for  disobedience,  death  (Sec.  42). 

Coccejus,  thus  having  shown  the  constitution  of  the  Covenant  of 
Works,  proceeds  in  Chapter  III  to  end,  to  describe  its  Abrogation, 
and  the  placing  in  its  stead  of  the  Covenant  of  Grace.  This  Abrogation 
progresses  in  five  steps.     The  law  or  Covenant  of  Works  is  done  away : 

(i)     As  far  as  the  possibility  of  making  alive 
Through  Sin  (per  peccatum). 

(2)  As  far  as  the  condemnation 

Through  Christ,  set  forth  in  promise  and  apprehended  in  faith. 

(3)  As  far  as  the  terror  or  power  of  the  fear  of  death  and  serv- 
itude 

Through  the  promulgation  of  the  New  Covenant,  the  expiation 
for  sin  having  been  made. 

(4)  As  far  as  grief  for  sin 
Through  the  death  of  the  body. 

(5)  As  far  as  all  effects 

Through  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  (Sec.  58). 
When  Adam  sinned  he  made  the  promise  useless.     There  could  be 
no  life  or  happiness  according  to  the  covenant,  because  man  had  failed 
(3) 


34  Th^  Rise  0?  THE  Current  Reeormation. 

to  fulfill  its  conditions  (Sec.  59).  As  the  whole  of  human  nature  was 
involved  in  his  act,  death  and  evil  came  upon  the  race  (Sec.  70).  Man, 
thus  condemned  by  the  law  of  this  covenant,  and  shut  out  from  any  good 
thereby,  is  yet  obligated  to  do  all  things  which  the  law  of  nature  and 
God  by  right  of  this  dominion  demand  of  him.  He  must  at  the  same 
time  suffer  punishment  for  past  sin  and  render  obedience  as  present 
duty.  No  future  obedience  can  redeem  him  from  past  error,  nor  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  least  precept.  Hence,  in  this  covenant  there  is  no  hope. 
Man  but  stores  up  wrath  for  the  day  of  wrath  (Sec.  71).  But  God 
himself  provides  a  remedy.  It  is  the  Covenant  of  Grace  (Foedus  Grat- 
ise).  This  is  the  agreement  (conventio)  between  God  and  man  the 
sinner  by  which  God  declares  the  free  gift  of  justification  (justitia)  and 
the  inheritance  of  his  child  given  through  Faith  in  the  Mediator, 
which  Faith  itself  is  the  beginning  of  the  restoration  and  return  to  peace, 
friendship,  and  the  hope  of  the  inheritance  in  good  conscience  (Sec. 
76) .    In  this  covenant  ten  points  are  to  be  noted : 

a.  The  good  obtained    (bonum),  which   is  justification  (justitia) 

and  life  (vita). 

b.  The  manner  of  conferring, — a  gift. 

c.  The  Mediator 

through  whom  and  by  whom  the  gift  is  made — Jesus  Christ. 

d.  The  Means  by  which  the  good  is  possessed — 
Faith. 

e.  The  Partakers — 

Believers. 

f.  The  Source — 

The  Good  Will  of  God. 

g.  The  Proclamation  of  the  Good — 

The  Promises  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
h.     Human  Powers  Demanded — 

None ;  it  is  of  Grace, 
i.     Permanence, 
j.     Final  End — 

The  Glory  of  God. 
The  promulgation  of  the  Covenant  of  Grace  in  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures is  of  two  kinds : 

( 1 )  In  Expectation  of  Christ, 

whose  subjects  live  under  the  promise. 

(2)  In  Faith  in  Christ 

having  been  revealed.  (Sec.  278). 

The  first  corresponds  to  the  Old  Testament ;  the  second  to  the  New 


The  Covenant  Theology.  35 

Testament.  Thus  the  Covenant  of  Grace  falls  into  two  dispensations , 
in  both  of  which  Christ  is  set  forth  in  an  elaborate  system  of  typology. 
They  differ  mainly  in  the  degree  of  clearness  in  which  the  grace  is 
revealed.  The  final  abolition  of  the  Covenant  of  Works  and  the  condem- 
nation thereby  is  through  the  death  of  the  body  and  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead. 

This  doctrine  of  Coccejus  was  defended  by  his  pupils,  Heidanus 
and  Momma.     It  was  further  elaborated  by  Burman  and  Witsius.     Bur- 
man  distinguished  three  steps  in  the  Covenant  of  Grace : 
(i)     Oeconomia  ante  legem 

(2)  Oeconomia  sub  lege 

(3)  Oeconomia  post  legem ; 

in  the  course  of  which  the  Law  was  first  in  the  form  of  conscience 
(Lex  Natura)  ;  then  in  a  written  form  (Lex  Mosis),  and  lastly  Christ 
appeared  as  the  perfect  personal  law.  The  promise  was  first  the  pro- 
tevangelium  (Gen.  3:15),  then  ceremonial  types  and  prophecies,  and 
lastly  Christ  himself  as  the  personal  grace.  The  community  was  first 
the  family;  then  the  Jewish  people;  then  mankind.  The  form  of  gov- 
ernment was  first  the  patriarchal  order ;  then  a  priestly  theocracy ;  then 
free  fellowship.  Each  is  an  advance  on,  yea,  a  reformation  of  the  pre- 
ceding !  At  the  first  God  spake  with  man  direct ;  then  through  the  law 
and  prophecies ;  now  through  the  New  Testament.  In  each  dispensation 
the  sacraments  win  more  and  more  meaning.  Witsius  still  more  adapts 
the  dogma  to  Bible  facts.  He  finds  not  three  periods,  but  a  still 
greater  number.  In  his  great  work,  "The  Economy  of  the  Covenants  of 
God  with  Men,"  he  falls  back  upon  the  contrast  between  the  Old  and 
JMew  Testaments ;  but  finds  subdivisions  in  each  period,  which  in  turn 
have  their  own  proper  covenants.  Thus,  in  the  Old  Testament  there 
were  four  periods:  (i)  From  Adam  to  Noah  (2)  From  Noah  to 
Abraham  (3)  From  Abraham  to  Moses  (4)  From  Moses  to  Christ 
(Book  III,  Ch.  III).  In  the  New  Testament,  Witsius  also  observes 
various  periods,  as  described  by  the  Revelation  of  John;  which  the 
Church  as  yet  has  experienced  only  in  part;  which  also  he  does  not 
undertake  to  define  (Book  III,  Ch.  Ill,  Sec.  19).  Thus  Witsius  applies 
the  Covenant  category  in  greater  detail  than  any  of  his  predecessors; 
but  neutralizes  his  results  by  insisting  on  the  unity  in  substance  of  all  the 
covenants;  and  strangely  enough,  made  himself  quite  acceptable  to  all 
parties.  It  is  his  work  which  had  the  wide  circulation  and  was  the 
authority  on  the  covenants  for  a  century.  Such  was  the  system  of  Cove- 
nant Theology  in  the  Netherlands. 
II.     Two  Questions  Remain: 


36  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

(i)     What  is  the  historical  significance  of  the  Covenant  Theology? 
(2)     Is  there  an  historical  connection  between  the  Covenant  The- 
ology of  the  Netherlands  and  that  of  the  Current  Reformation? 
That  the  Covenant  Idea  appears  first  as  a  dominant  category  in 
theology  with  Coccejus  is  proved : 

a.  There  is  no  mention  of  it  in  the  Augsburg  Confession,  Formula 

of  Concord,  or  principal  creeds  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

b.  It  is  not  found  in  the  principal  creeds  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
except  the  Westminster  Confession,  which  was  later. 

c.  It  appears  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  in  m.any 

quarters.     E.  g.  Wm.  Ames  in  England,  Grotius  in  Holland 
(Fisher,  Hist,  of  Doct.  p.  348,  note)  as  the  product  of  a  com- 
mon time  spirit. 

Coccejus,  though  probably  not  the  first  to  use  the  idea,  became  the 
voice  of  the  age's  groping  after  a  great  truth.  Henceforth  his  statement 
became  the  instrument  of  all  others. 

A.  Whence,  then,  did  Coccejus  get  his  Covenant  Idea,  or  at  least 
the  suggestion  of  it  ?    Two  answers  are  possible — 

(i)     From  the  Bible  itself;     (2)  From  the  political  philosophy  of 
the  times. 

Both  are  doubtless  true.  The  book  of  Genesis  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  that  of  Hebrews  in  the  New  are  especially  rich  in  the  terms 
and  conceptions  used  by  him.  But  he  extended  the  category  over  the 
whole  area  of  the  Bible,  gave  such  terms  as  Law,  Nature,  Sin,  Grace, 
Promise  a  coloring  not  native  to  the  text,  and  constructed  thereby  a 
philosophy  of  history  which  an  independent  study  of  the  Scriptures  can 
not  justify.  Just  at  this  time  (1625)  Hugo  Grotius  had  published  his 
famous  book 

De  Jure  Belli  et  Pads. 
It  was  so  popular  that  it  soon  ran  through  several  editions.  It  was 
highly  prized  by  men  of  state.  Gustavus  Adolphus  carried  a  copy  about 
with  him  in  his  campaigns  and  slept  with  it  under  his  pillow.  Oxen- 
stiern  made  its  author,  though  a  Netherlander,  the  Swedish  ambassador 
at  Paris.  The  Pope  paid  his  respects  by  placing  the  book  in  the  Index 
Expurgatorius.  Grotius  became  the  founder  of  a  new  science — Inter- 
national Law.  The  influence  of  Grotius  is  evident  upon  the  face  of 
Coccejus'  book.  Direct  reference  is  made  to  him  in  sections  i  (two 
times),  2,  4,  14,  28,  54,  55,  68,  87,  and  others.  These  are  mainly  cor- 
rections of  exegetical  positions  taken  by  Grotius,  and  only  prove 
Coccejus'  acquaintance  with  his  works.    Again,  Grotius  was  only  one 


The  Covenant  Theoi^ogy.  37 

of  many  authors  who  lived  in  this  period  and  who  were  struggUng  to 
express  the  same  thoughts, — e.  g.,  Ollendorf,  GentiHs,  Ayala,  Althu- 
sius,  etc.  This  common  truth  of  the  time  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Social 
Contract,  which  was  destined  to  play  so  great  a  part  in  later  social  and 
political  developments. 

Let  us  sketch  the  natural  history  of  the  Social  Contract  theory. 
Of  this  there  are  two  roots,  the  Greek  and  the  Latin.  The  beginning 
was  made  with  Aristotle  in  his  famous  dictum,  "Man  is  by  nature  a  po- 
litical animal."  By  this  he  meant  that  man  finds  his  true  being,  not 
in  isolation,  but  in  a  state,  in  a  society  with  his  fellowmen.  The  Stoics 
began  to  develop  the  idea,  "man  by  nature,"  and  in  their  doctrine — 
"to  live  according  to  Nature" — brought  it  to  the  forefront  of  ethical  phil- 
osophy. But  Nature  with  the  Stoics  was  not  Nature  in  the  modern 
sense — a  complex  of  sensible  objects.  It  was  the  objective  reason,  the 
mind  of  God  in  things,  which  gave  them  unity,  order  and  intelligence. 
A  like  reason  was  manifest  in  the  mind  of  man.  There  was  a  divine 
element  in  him.  To  live  according  to  Nature  was  not  an  appeal  to 
the  lower  sensuous  nature,  but  to  the  intelligence  of  a  man,  to  the 
common  reason  in  mankind,  to  the  divine  reason  as  manifested  in  both 
minds  and  things  which  make  up  the  world-whole  (Kocrfxxii),  This 
was  the  Lex  Naturae  of  Greek  Philosophy. 

The  Roman  Law  was  the  bedding  of  the  other  root.  The  ancient 
jurists  made  the  distinction'  between  Jus  Civile  and  Jus  Gentium.  The 
Jus  Civile  (Civil  Law)  held  for  all  dealings  of  one  Roman  citizen  with 
another.  It  grew  out  of  the  institutions  of  the  state.  But  in  the  case 
of  a  Roman  citizen  dealing  with  some  member  of  any  one  of  the  subject 
nations,  these  inner  legal  enactments  did  not  hold.  Here  the  standard 
was  the  Jus  Gentium  (Law  for  the  Nations).  This  meant  the  prin- 
ciples of  right  and  justice  generally  accepted  among  mankind,  the  com- 
mon law  of  the  world.  Cicero  marks  the  juncture  of  the  two  currents. 
He  identified  the  Lex  Naturae  of  the  Stoics  with  the  Jus  Gentium  of  the 
Roman  Law.     This  conjunction  was  codified  in  the  Justinian  Institutes. 

Thomas  Aquinas  next  brings  in  another  factor.  He  distinguishes 
the  Lex  Naturae  (Natural  Law)  from  the  Lex  Instituta  (Positive  Law, 
or  Law  by  Legal  Enactment).  This  is  of  two  kinds — Lex  Humana 
(Human  Law  or  Laws  of  States)  and  Lex  Divina  (Divine  Law,  or 
the  Law  of  the  Church).  Each  in  its  true  being  was  conformable  to  the 
other.  The  Natural  Law  was  God's  law,  inherent  in  the  rational  mind 
of  His  creatures.  The  Laws  of  States  were  just  only  when  they  re- 
flected this  natural  law.    The  appeal  was  made  from  any  tyrannical 


38  Ths  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

state  back  to  the  law  of  reason.  The  Lex  Divina  (or  law  directly  from 
God)  was  held  to  be  in  harmony  with  reason  always.  It  was  mediated 
through  the  church. 

Grotius  came  in  after  the  breaking  up  of  the  Lex  Divina  by  the 
Protestant  Reformation.  Religious  and  political  anarchy  was  rife  in  all 
lands.  The  Inquisition  and  Thirty  Years'  War  were  doing  their  dead- 
liest work.  The  mediaeval  peacemaker,  the  Pope,  had  lost  his  powei. 
The  unity  of  the  Roman  Empire  was  gone  forever.  The  old  feudal 
lord  was  being  bowed  off  the  stage  by  the  new  absolute  monarch.  Gro- 
tius was  a  Netherlander,  a  citizen  of  that  republic  just  then  rising  into 
commercial  supremacy.  The  traders  of  the  wide  world  are  always  the 
most  benefitted  by  peace.  What  could  restore  the  order  and  unity  of  the 
Mediaeval  Papacy?  At  this  juncture  the  patriot  and  scholar  issues  a 
book  on  "The  Rights  of  War  and  Peace."  Once  more  he  identifies  the 
Lex  Naturae  and  Jus  Gentium.  But  this  time  the  Jus  Gentium  was  not 
a  law  between  the  individuals  of  different  nations,  but  between  the  na- 
tions themselves.  He  wrote  the  first  book  on  International  Law.  He 
laid  down  the  principles  by  which  peace  could  be  possible  among  peoples 
and  by  which  the  terrors  of  war  could  be  mitigated.  This  could  happen 
by  a  social  contract.  He  looked  forward  to  a  "Congress  of  Christian 
Powers"  in  which  controversies  which  arise  among  some  of  them  may  be 
decided  by  others  who  are  not  interested,  and  in  which  measures  may  bo 
taken  to  compel  the  parties  to  accept  peace  on  equitable  terms.  In  all 
Grotius'  reasonings  the  Lex  Nature  is  the  ruling  conception.  He  defines 
this  as  "the  dictate  of  Right  Reason,  indicating  that  any  act,  from  its 
agreement  or  disagreement  with  the  rational  (or  social)  nature  (of 
man),  has  in  it  a  moral  turpitude  or  a  moral  necessity,  and  consequently, 
such  act  is  forbidden  or  commanded  by  God,  the  author  of  nature." 
(Grotius,  Whewell  4.) 

Now  the  leap  is  made  from  politics  to  theology.  Coccejus  identifies 
this  Lex  Naturae  with  his  Foedus  Operum.  Chapter  II  (De  Fcedere  et 
Testamento  Dei)  is  an  argument  for  this  identification.  The  two  cove- 
nants (Foedus  Operum  et  Foedus  Gratis)  are  also  called  laws  (Lex 
Operum  et  Lex  Fidei),  as  works  is  the  method  of  the  one,  faith  that  of 
the  other  (Sec.  11).  In  the  case  of  Adam,  the  law  of  works  was  not 
written  in  a  book,  because  Adam  being  upright  and  in  the  image  of 
God,  it  was  written  on  the  tablets  of  the  heart.  In  fallen  man,  who 
thus  naturally  knew  what  was  right,  there  remains  the  testimony  of 
conscience.  Meanwhile  the  tables  of  covenant  and  the  book  of  the  law 
do  not  command  different  but  the  same  things  as  the  law  of  nature  (Lex 
Naturae  is  the  word  written  in  italics).     For  it  is  necessary  that  the  law 


The  Covenant  Theoi,ogy.  39 

of  works  be  one.  Therefore,  the  Lex  Naturse  and  the  Decalogue  con- 
tain the  same  precepts,  or  the  Lex  Naturae  and  the  Lex  Scripta  are  the 
same  thing  (Sec.  13).  Kence  (I  give  a  Hteral  translation— Sec.  22)  : 
''The  Covenant  of  Works,  so  far  as  it  rests  upon  the  law  of  Nature, 
can  be  called  the  Covenant  of  Nature."  (Sec.  22.  Foedus  Operum  quate- 
nus  lege  Naturse  nititur  foedus  Naturae  appellari  potest.)  "For  it  is  natur- 
al that  man,  endowed  with  intelligence  and  will,  should  be  created  not 
without  the  image  of  God.  I,  alongside  with  the  Scriptures,  call  the  im- 
age of  God  that  likeness  to  God  by  which  man  agrees  and  concurs  with 
God  that  when  the  same  thing  is  examined,  God  appears  to  be  his  exemp- 
lar throughout."  (Sec.  22).  Hence,  Coccejus  says:  ''Man  (i.  e.  after  the 
Fall)  condemned  through  the  law  of  this  covenant  and  shut  out  from 
its  benefits,  yet  remains  obligated  to  perform  everything  which  both  the 
Lex  Naturae  and  God  by  right  of  his  dominion  demand  of  him."  (Sec. 
71).  Thus  throughout  the  Covenant  of  Works  (Foedus  Operum)  is 
made  the  basis  of  Coccejus'  system.  He  knows  the  Covenant  of  Grace 
(Foedus  Gratiae)  only  as  an  abrogation  of  the  same.  But  the  basis  of 
the  Covenant  of  Works  is  ever  the  Law  of  Nature  (Lex  Naturae).  This 
is  given  the  same  content  as  in  Grotius,  Aquinas,  Cicero  and  the  Stoics. 
Thus,  our  conclusion  may  be  said  to  have  been  fairly  well  estab- 
lished. The  Covenant  Idea  was  formally  from  the  Scriptures,  really 
from  the  political  philosophy  of  the  times.  Its  use  as  a  category  in  the- 
ology was  certainly  from  the  latter  source.  The  motives  of  Coccejus 
were  like  those  of  his  fellow-countryman,  Grotius.  He  was,  above  all 
things,  a  peace-loving  man.  His  problem  was  one  of  irenics.  He  came 
in  the  time  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  crowning  dogma  of  Predestina- 
tion, yet  he  was  a  loyal  son  of  the  Reformed  Church.  He  sought  to 
avert  the  strifes  of  the  schools  and  adjust  for  the  purpose  of  practical 
piety  the  old  antinomy  of  divine  sovereignty  and  human  responsibility. 
He  sought  a  mean  in  which  the  extremes  could  meet.  He  would  save 
from  the  ethically  deadening  determinism  of  Beza,  Gomar,  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  rash  enthusiasm  and  subjectivism  of  the  Anabaptist,  Soci- 
nian  and  Arminian,  on  the  other.  He  was  the  first  of  the  Reformed 
theologians  to  feel  the  union  tendency.  He  uttered  no  tirades  against 
the  Lutherans.  He  is  more  akin  to  Melanchton  than  to  any  other.  His 
Covenant  Theology  was  a  new  Synergism  of  its  own  sort.  His  greatest 
antipathy  was  to  the  Scholasticism  of  the  times.  He  was  a  Humanist 
of  the  most  pronounced  type.  His  interests  were  linguistic.  He  had 
been  taught  Hebrew  by  a  Jew.  His  interpretations  were  of  the  literary 
sort.  He  never  became  involved  in  the  dogmatic  spirit.  How  could 
freedom  and  vital  religion  be  preserved,  Coccejus  presented  this  way 


40  Th$  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

out.  It  is  a  Jus  Sectarum  (Law  for  the  Sects),  as  Grotius  had  pre- 
sented a  Jus  Gentium  (Law  for  the  Nations).  He  sought  a  common 
ground  for  the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures,  and  for  the  realization 
of  the  Christian  hfe,  in  which  all  could  agree.  This  he  found  in  his 
Fcedus  Dei  cum  Homine.  It  was  a  new  return  to  the  law,  but  to  the 
Law  of  Nature  (I^ex  Naturae),  which  was  at  the  same  time  the  Law  of 
God  (Lex  Divina).  It  was  a  law  which  could  find  adequate  expression 
in  the  practical  life.  God  and  man  are  made  to  act  reciprocally.  Each 
finds  his  true  life  in  this  covenant  synergism. 

2.  The  historical  in^uences  of  this  Social  Contract  or  Covenant 
Idea  are  traceable  in  two  spheres, — politics  and  theology.  ( i )  Let  us 
first  note  the  political  development.  The  framework  of  Grotius'  thinking 
was  this :  The  natural  condition  of  states  is  war.  But  peace  is  prefer- 
able. This  is  possible  only  if  the  nations  will  make  a  common  covenant 
to  keep  the  peace  He  lays  down  the  principles  of  right  which  must  be 
the  basis  of  such  a  covenant.  This  is  International  Law.  It  in  turn 
throughout  is  based  on  the  Law  of  Nature. 

Hobbes,  who  is  next  in  line,  applies  the  Social  Contract  to  individ- 
uals. The  natural  state  of  man  is  a  state  of  war.  His  ruling  impulse 
is  selfishness.  When  this  state  becomes  unendurable,  men  come  together 
in  a  social  compact  and  give  over  their  rights  to  the  sovereign,  the  Le- 
viathan. Yet  this  one  has  made  no  contract,  and  is  not  bound  in  any 
way  to  respect  the  wishes  of  the  people.  Their  compact  was  with  one 
another;  they  gave  over  the  sovereignty  for  selfish  purposes.  The 
sovereign,  too,  can  consult  his  own  wishes  in  his  conduct.  Thus,  Hobbes 
was  the  great  champion  of  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings. 

Locke  makes  an  advance  on  Hobbes.  He  recognizes  the  rights  of 
the  people.  The  sovereign,  too,  has  made  his  contract ;  he  must  respect 
it.  If  not,  there  is  the  divine  right  of  Revolution.  Another  change  is 
made.  The  state  of  nature  was  not  a  state  of  war,  but  of  peace.  It  was 
the  ideal  state, — the  GoMen  Age  celebrated  in  classical  literature.  Pope 
sings  its  glories  in  the  line: 

"The  state  of  nature  is  the  reign  of  God." 

Rousseau  is  next.  He  laid  the  emphasis  upon  the  "State  of  Na- 
ture," and  said  little  about  the  Law  of  Nature.  He  raised  the  cry 
against  civilization ;  against  conventions ;  against  governm.ents  of  every 
sort ;  and  pleaded  for  a  return  to  the  primitive  simplicity.  His  cry  was 
negative.  It  became  destructive.  He  was  the  Father  of  the  French 
Revolution;  the  final  vial  of  wrath  poured  by  Individualism  upon  all 
remnants  of  the  mediaeval  system.  His  "Contrat  Social"  was  the  great 
book  of  his  day, — 1761. 


The  Covenant  Theology.  4X 

Then  came  the  American  Revolution.  The  Federalist— Jefferson, 
Hamilton,  Madison,  etc. — was  a  recension  of  the  principles  of  Locke  and 
Rousseau.  Such  sentences  as  "All  men  are  created  equal,"  "government 
derives  its  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,"  "no  taxa- 
tion without  representation,"  etc.,  are  simply  the  set  phrases  of  the 
Social  Contract  theory  of  the  time.  Thus  the  civilization  of  the  New 
Warld  was  prepared  for  a  conception  of  religion  in  the  terms  of  the 
"Contrat  Social,"  and  favorably  inclined  to  it  by  its  struggles  for  lib 
erty  and  dominant  modes  of  political  thought.  This  was  the  audience 
destined  by  Providence  to  be  addressed  by  the  Campbells  and  their  asso- 
ciates. 

(2)  The  theological  development  worked  alongside.  It  may  be 
traced  in  three  distinct  threads: 

a.  First  is  the  Covenant  note  in  the  common  Calvinism.  This  goes 
back  of  Coccejus  to  the  great  founder  of  the  Reformed  Church  himself. 
In  fact,  the  term  was  used  freely  by  all  the  Protestant  theologians,  espe- 
cially by  Calvin  in  his  common  reference  to  Biblical  modes  of  speech. 
Thus,  he  says:  "All  whom,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  God 
adopted  as  His  peculiar  people,  were  taken  into  covenant  with  Him  on 
the  sam.e  conditions  and  under  the  same  bond  of  doctrine  as  ourselves" 
(Institutes  Book  II,  Ch.  10,  Sec.  i).  This  is  stated  in  his  chapter  on 
the  resemblance  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  He  is  quick  to  add 
however,  "The  covenant  made  with  all  the  fathers,  far  from  differing 
from  ours,  in  reality  and  substance  is  altogether  one  and  the  same  with 
it;  only  the  administration  differs."  Thus  Predestination  remains  as 
the  ruling  conception.  The  immutability  of  God  is  preserved;  likewise 
the  determinism.  "There  is  only  one  rule  of  piety  among  the  people  of 
God."  All  variations  are  only  in  form  and  of  minor  importance.  All 
historical  growth  of  truth  and  duty  is  annulled.  But  it  is  significant 
that  when  Calvin  states  the  relation  between  God  and  man  as  a  result 
of  the  decrees,  he  does  so  in  the  terms  of  the  covenant.  It  was  only 
natural  that  when  his  followers  began  to  inquire  into  the  particulars  of 
this  relation  that  they  should  take  hold  of  this  idea  and  find  in  it  a  fruit- 
ful conception.  The  Covenant  became  the  form  and  war-cry  of  the 
Scotch  Reformation.  It  was  the  nature  of  the  constitution  adopted  by 
the  members  of  the  early  Independent  Churches.  Besides  these  applica- 
tions in  the  realm  of  church  polity,  it  was  destined  to  have  a  wide  use 
in  theolog}\  Hyperius,  Olevian,  Eglin,  Amesius  and  Bullinger  appear 
as  the  forerunners  of  Coccejus.  Thus  the  doctrine  has  always  been 
presented  in  a  mild  form  and  subordinate  to  the  decrees  by  the  theolo- 
gians of  the  Reformed  Church,  especially  in  Scotland  and  America.    It 


42  Ths  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

was  a  part  of  the  theological  inheritance  of  all  Presbyterians.  The  early 
Reformers  springing  out  of  this  soil  could  use  or  reject  this  product, 
which  lay  half-grown  before  them,  as  they  pleased. 

b.     The  second  thread  is  a  special   connection.     William  Ames 
(Amesius),  born  1576,  died  1633,  brought  up  as  a  Puritan,  educated  at 
Cambridge,  became  one  of  the  most  ardent  advocates  of  Puritanism. 
Hence  he  was  compelled  to  flee  to  Holland  during  the  reign  of  the 
Stuarts.    Here  he  met  John  Robinson ;  was  a  member  of  the  Synod  of 
Dort,  1618,  at  which  he  took  sides  against  the  Remonstrants;  and  after 
serving  as  chaplain  in  the  army  was  seated  as  professor  of  theology  at 
Franeker,  1622.    Here  he  taught  Coccejus,  and  seems  to  have  been  the 
most  influential  factor  in  shaping  his  future  destiny.    Ames  taught  the 
Foedus  Operuni  in  a  work  called  the  ''Medulla  Theologise,"  and  seems 
to  have  had  many  friends  and  sympathizers  among  the  Puritan  divines 
of  those  stormy  times.    At  least  the  covenant  theologians  had  a  small 
representation  in  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  secured  the  insertion 
of  their  favorite  tenet  in  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  where  it 
appears  with  great  clearness  as  Article  VH  with  only  the  Calvinistic 
caveat  attached, — "There  are  not,  therefore,  two  covenants  of  grace 
differing  in  substance,  but  one  and  the  same  under  various  dispensa- 
tions."    (See  Schaff— Creeds,  Vol  HI,  p.  618). 

Among  the  adherents  of  Cromwell  was  one  Edward  Fisher,  who — 
taking  up  the  title  of  Ames — wrote  the  "Marrow  of  Modern  Divinity" 
(1644).  This  book,  as  the  sub-title  shows  ("Touching  both  the  Cove- 
nant of  Works  and  the  Covenant  of  Grace ;  with  use  and  end,  both  in  the 
time  of  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the  time  of  the  New"),  was  a  direct 
statement  of  the  covenant  theology  for  practical  purposes.  The  form  of 
the  book  was  a  dialogue  between  Evangelista,  a  Minister,  Nomista,  a 
Legalist,  Antinomista,  an  Antinomian,  and  Neophitus,  a  young  Chris- 
tian. Evangelista  represents  the  author's  view,  who  saw  two  dangers 
in  the  religion  of  his  time, — a  strict  legalism,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
Antinomianism  on  the  other,  and  states  as  his  purpose  "to  walk  as  a 
middle  man  between  them  both." 

Calvin  had  identified  the  Covenant  with  the  Law,  which  he  in  turn 
divided  into  three  kinds, — Ceremonial  Law,  Judicial  Law,  Moral  Law  or 
the  Decalogue.  The  first  he  held  to  have  been  done  away  in  Christ,  the 
second  to  apply  only  to  the  Jewish  State,  while  the  third  is  eternal  and 
immutable  and  binding  on  the  elect.  Hence  it  was  only  natural  that 
strict  Puritanism  should  fall  back  on  the  Decalogue  and  maintain  a 
rigidity  on  Sabbath  keeping,  etc.,  which  Fisher  felt  to  depart  from  the 
spirit  of  Christ  and  the  freedom  of  grace.     Meanwhile  many  Anglican 


The  Covenant  Theoi^ogy.  43 

divines  had  gone  too  far  in  the  other  direction,  through  the  incoming 
Arminianism  and  Socinianism,  Fisher,  well  learned  in  the  best  writers 
of  his  day,  sought  the  via  media,  which  naturally  enough  should  be  the 
doctrine  of  the  covenants  in  a  new  cloak.  The  book  received  little  no- 
tice, and  passed  from  print,  to  be  revived  eighty  years  later  in  a  strange 
way. 

The  scene  was  now  shifted  to  Scotland,  in  the  General  Assembly  of 
1717.  There  was  no  small  stir  about  one  John  Simson,  professor  of 
Glasgow,  who  was  alleged  to  be  Arminian  in  tendency  and  who  had 
attacked  the  doctrine  of  grace,  and  who  w^as  treated  with  great  leniency 
by  the  Assembly.  This  was  followed  by  discussion  of  the  question, 
"Which  came  first ;  faith  or  repentance  ?"  raised  by  some  propositions  of 
the  Auchterarder  Presbytery,  The  so-called  ''Auchterarder  Creed," 
which  affirmed  the  priority  of  faith,  w^as  condemned  by  the  Assembly. 
Many  were  violently  opposed  to  the  action  of  the  majority.  Thomas 
Boston,  Minister  of  Etterick,  one  of  the  minority,  told  a  friend  that  he 
had  once  read  a  book  which  would  throw^  much  light  on  the  question. 
This  book  was  the  "Marrow  of  IModern  Divinity,"  by  Edward  Fisher 
(Boston's  Memoirs,  p.  291).  When  a  young  minister,  and  much  trou- 
bled about  the  doctrine  of  grace,  he  chanced  upon  a  copy  of  the 
"Marrow"  in  one  of  the  houses  of  his  parish,  which  had  been  brought 
from  England  by  a  soldier  who  had  served  in  Cromwell's  wars.  He 
read  the  book  with  great  satisfaction  for  the  time,  but  later  dismissed 
it  from  his  mind  (Ibid  155).  Now  the  book  w^as  brought  to  the  light, 
and  republished  by  James  Hog,  171 8.  This  occasioned  a  great  con- 
troversy in  the  Scottish  Church,  over  what  was  known  as  the  "Marrow 
Movement."  A  great  hue  and  cry  was  raised  against  Antinomianism, 
which  the  book  was  alleged  to  teach.  Mr.  Hog  and  friends  were  called 
before  the  Assembly's  committee.  Upon  their  refusal  to  retract,  some 
propositions  were  culled  from  the  book  and  condemned  by  the  Assembly, 
1720  (Ibid  318).  Upon  this,  twelve  prominent  ministers  prepared  a 
"Representation,"  protesting  against  the  action  of  the  Assembly,  and 
claiming  that  these  propositions  culled  from  the  book  by  its  enemies  did 
not  fairly  represent  its  teaching  (Ibid  324).  Among  these  were  Thomas 
Boston,  James  Hog,  Ralph  and  Ebenezer  Erskine.  But  after  a  bitter 
disputation,  they  received  for  their  pains  only  the  rebuke  of  the  Assem- 
bly, to  which  they  submitted  and  the  affair  was  ended  (Ibid  333).  But, 
like  most  controversies  it  left  each  party  with  firmer  convictions.  As 
true  Scotchmen,  Boston  and  his  friends  were  not  lax  in  holding  and 
advocating  their  beliefs.  A  new  edition  of  the  "Marrow"  was  published, 
with  notes  by  Thomas  Boston  (see  Boston's  Works,  Vol.  VII).     And 


44  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

this  writer  incorporated  in  his  great  book  "Human  Nature  in  Its  Four- 
fold State,"  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  Covenant  Theology. 

In  1732  occurred  the  Great  Secession  from  the  Established  Church. 
Ralph  and  Ebenezer  Erskine  were  the  leaders.  Illness  and  death  had 
doubtless  only  saved  Thomas  Boston  from  being  one  of  their  number. 
His  book  and  doctrine  were  exceedingly  popular  among  the  Seceders. 
It  was  read  by  Alexander  Campbell  with  avidity  while  yet  a  boy  (Rich. 
Mem,  1,99;  Harb.  30,  137). 

Thus  a  still  stronger  statement  of  the  covenant  teaching  was  a  main 
element  in  the  special  inheritance  of  the  Campbells  in  the  Scottish  Sect 
in  which  they  were  nurtured. 

c.  The  third  thiead  is  the  direct  one.  The  works  of  the  Covenant 
Theologians  of  Holland  were  read  in  the  original  Latin  and  in  transla- 
tions by  the  scholars  of  the  English  Nation  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  2']').  Espe- 
cially was  this  true  of  Witsius — "The  Economy  of  the  Covenants" — 
whose  book  had  been  translated  and  was  a  common  text-book  in  acade- 
mies for  the  education  of  ministers.  Boston  knew  and  used  this  work ; 
likewise  Mr.  Campbell  was  acquainted  with  it,  and  could  draw  from 
direct  sources  this  historic  doctrine. 

III.  There  remains  simply  the  proof  of  the  use  of  the  Covenant 
Theology  by  Alexander  Campbell,  and  the  estimate  of  its  influence  on 
the  Current  Reformation. 

That  Alexander  Camipbell  was  a  Covenant  Theologian  is  evident 
both  from  his  life  and  his  teachings : 

I.  His  first  published  production  was  the  Sermon  on  the  Law 
(see  Harb.  46,  493;  Young's  Hist.  Doc,  217).  In  this  sermon  he 
made  a  contrast  between  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  on  the  familiar 
lines  of  the  Covenant  Theology.  He  recognized  the  Lex  Naturae 
(see  Harb.  46,  519;  Young's  Hist.  Doc,  ^J^j),  He  attacked  the  popular 
division  of  the  Law  into  moral,  ceremonial  and  judicial,  as  unscriptural 
and  unwarranted.  He  held  that  the  Law  was  given  to  the  Jews,  and  de- 
signed only  for  them ;  that  the  Christian  is  not  even  subject  to  the  Ten 
Commandments,  only  so  far  as  they  are  enjoined  by  Christ ;  that  there 
is  no  necessity  for  preaching  the  Law  in  order  to  prepare  men  for  re- 
ceiving the  Gospel,  but  that  the  sole  rule  of  the  Christian  life  is  the 
Word  of  Christ  (see  C.  B.,  40).  It  is  no  wonder  that  this  message 
should  be  offensive  to  the  stiff  Calvinists  of  the  Redstone  Association. 
Mr.  Campbell  recognized  in  the  sermon  itself  that  the  old  charge  of 
Antinomianism  would  be  brought  against  him  (Harb.  46,  510,  521 ;  C. 
B.,  39),  and  was  willing  that  it  should  be  so.  Thus  we  see  the  historic 
rise  of  one  of  the  popular  objections  to  the  teachings  of  Mr.  Campbell 


The  Covenant  Theoi^ogy.  45 

and  his  friends — that  "they  reject  the  Old  Testament"  and  the  root  from 
which  it  came,  viz. :  the  Covenant  Doctrine.  This  sermon  was  a  matter 
of  the  utmost  moment  in  the  personal  experiences  of  its  author.  He  says 
pf  it  thirty  years  later  (Harb.  46,  493)  :  "This  unfortunate  sermon 
afterwards  involved  me  in  a  seven  years'  war  with  some  members  of  said 

Association,  and  became  a  matter  of  much  debate It  is  therefore 

highly  probable,  to  my  mind,  that  but  for  the  persecution  begun  on  the 
alleged  heresy  of  this  sermon  whether  the  present  reformation  had  ever 
been  advocated  by  me."  This  position  was  one  of  the  points  in  contro- 
versy which  led  to  the  later  separation  from  the  Baptists  (C.  B.  575, 
Life  of  Smith  376). 

Enlarged,  in  a  great  discourse  on  the  Progress  of  Revelation,  it  was 
used  by  Mr.  Campbell  on  all  star  occasions  in  his  itineraries  (Hay.  35; 
Rich.  Mem.  II,  164,  168;  Harb.  49,  46),  throughout  his  life.  In  the 
earliest  period  his  illustrations  of  this  theme  were  full-grown,  and  the 
different  dispensations  were  depicted  as  the  starlight,  moonlight,  twilight 
and  sunlight  ages  of  the  world  (McCalla  Deb.,  125  ;  C.  B.,  495) .  He  in- 
corporated it  in  the  Confession  of  the  Wellsburg  Church,  1824  (Hay.  ^2) , 
and  acted  it  out  in  his  atttitude  on  the  "Sabbath  Question"  (Rich.  Mem.  i, 
432-5),  for  which  he  attacked  the  floral  Societies  of  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania (Rich.  Mem.  i,  522-37).  He  stated  his  doctrine  most  fully  in  his 
"Essays  on  Man  in  the  Primitive  State,  and  under  the  Patriarchal,  Jew- 
ish and  Christian  Dispensations"  in  the  Christian  Baptist  (463,  470,  484, 
494,  503,  5ii»  521,  542,  559,  574,  5^9,  633,  637,  646,  654,  656).  Like- 
wise, the  Covenant  Theology  entered  as  a  constructive  factor  in  the 
Debates  of  Mr.  Carnpbell.  In  the  earliest  debate,  that  with  Walker,  the 
covenants  were  the  mam  article  of  contention.  The  subject  was  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Walker,  who  took  as  his  chief  thesis — "that  Baptism  came 
in  the  room  of  Circumcision ;"  "that  the  covenant  on  which  the  Jewish 
Church  was  built,  and  to  which  Circumcision  is  the  seal,  is  the  same  with 
the  covenant  on  which  the  Christian  Church  is  built  and  to  which  Bap- 
tism IS  the  seal"  (Walker  Deb.  9).  Mr.  Campbell  met  this  position  by 
showing  seven  differences  between  Baptism  and  Circumcision  (Ibid  12), 
and  by  distinguishing  two  Abrahamic  covenants, — the  covenant  of  cir- 
cumcision (Gen.  17),  given  to  Abraham  at  one  hundred  years  of  age, 
and  referred  to  by  Stephen  (Acts  7:8),  and  the  covenant  confirmed  be- 
fore of  God  in  Christ  (Gen.  12  :3) ,  given  at  75  years  of  age  and  so  called 
by  Paul  (Gal.  3:17)  (Ibid  13,  19,  20).  He  affirmed  that  on  these  two 
covenants  two  dispensations  were  founded, — the  Jewish  and  the  Christ- 
ian (Ibid  20).  This  debate  consisted  of  threshing  back  and  forth  over 
this  ground  until  an  estoppel  was  put  on  this  procedure  by  the  mod- 


46  I'he  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

erators  (Ibid  96).  Mr.  Campbell  thus  added  a  supplement  to  what  he 
had  been  able  to  say  in  the  debate  in  the  essay  on  the  "Covenants,"  pub- 
lished in  the  appendix  to  the  volume  (Ibid  153,  174).  This  was  the 
first  systematic  statement  of  his  thinking,  and  shows  plainly  that  he  had 
a  clear  understanding  of  the  Covenant  theology  at  the  beginning.  Mr. 
Walker  even  hurled  the  old  charge  of  Antinomianism  at  him  in  this  first 
combat  (Ibid  47,  141,  221).  A  like  prominence  is  given  to  this  doctrine 
in  all  his  discussions,  and  it  received  final  statement  in  the  volume  en- 
titled "Christian  Baptism"  (pp.  89-115). 

Let  us  now  make  a  brief  sketch  of  Mr.  Campbell's  doctrine  of  the 
covenants.  We  shall  draw  mainly  from  the  Walker  Debate  and 
"Christian  Baptism." 

"The  Universe  is  one  grand  system,  the  result  of  a  well-matured 
plan,  the  consummation  of  a  previously  existing  scheme  "  (Chr.  Bap'm 
89).  This  plan  or  scheme  is  its  constitution,  according  to  which  the 
universe  performs  all  its  operations  under  uniform  law.  Man,  as  a  part 
of  the  universe,  has  thus  his  constitution  moral  as  well  as  physical.  "And 
there  must  he  some  supreme  constitution,  or  law,  or  covenant,  by  which 
his  Sovereign  and  himself  can  understand  each  other  and  maintain  per- 
petual amity.  He  may  honor  the  God  that  made  him,  or  make  a  god  for 
himself.  A  god  he  must  have.  And  he  may  accept  a  constitution  or 
covenant  from  God,  or  make  one  with  Satan  and  ruin.  A  covenant  he 
must  nave/'  (Ibid  91.)  This  term  is  thus  defined:  Amongst  ir.en  we 
have  covenants.  In  these  there  are  parties.  One  may  sometimes  be  the 
covenanter,  the  other  the  covenantee.  The  former  propounds,  the  latter 
accepts  the  stipulation.  These  terms  are,  however,  seldom  used.  Both 
parties  are  most  generally  both  covenanters  and  covenantees.  They  both 
stipulate  and  restipulate.  Such  covenants  are  agreements,  or  bonds  en- 
tered into  between  two  or  more  parties  on  certain  terms.  Such  the 
Greeks  call  a  '  'suntheke, ' '  the  Latins  a  *  'foedus, ' '  we  a  covenant,  because 
that  word  literally  indicates  a  coming  together,  an  agreement.  With  us, 
:ndeed,  a  constitution  or  a  form  of  government,  because  an  agreement 
on  certain  principles  between  the  government  and  the  citizens,  is  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  a  covenant'  (Ibid  92).  But  the  covenant  between 
God  and  man  is  a  diatheke  (SLaOi^Krj)  ^  not  a  suntheke  (a-vvOrJKrj)^ 
God  is  so  far  above  man  in  rank  and  nature  as  to  propound  all  the  terms 
of  the  covenant,  to  w.^iich  man  must  accede  in  order  to  participate  in 
the  benefits  proposed.  Each  covenant  has  four  elements  (i)  the  com- 
mand; (2)  the  promise;  (3)  the  penalty;  (4)  the  seal  (Walker  Deb., 
154).    Mr.  Campbell  rejected  the  term  "Covenant  of  Works"  as  unbib- 


The  Covenant  Theoi^ogy.  47 

lical,  and  built  alone  a  progressive  series  of  covenants.     (Chr.  Bap'm 
20,  93).    These  were: 

1.  Covenant  with  Adam  (Hos.  6\^),  in  which  the  relations  of  the 
human  race  to  their  Creator  were  defined  and  the  conditions  of  future 
happiness  marked  out.  In  this  covenant,  the  command  was  the  prohi- 
bition of  the  forbidden  fruit;  the  promise,  continuance  in  the  life  of 
Eden ;  the  penalty,  death ;  and  tiie  seal,  the  tree  of  life.  This  original 
charter  was  a  necessity  of  divine  government.  It  was  a  test  of  human 
loyalty  (C.  B.  470). 

2.  Covenant  with  Noah;  in  which  Noah,  as  the  founder  of  the 
Post-diluvian  world  received  the  guarantee  of  the  continuance  of  that 
state.  It  had  no  command,  and  hence  no  penalty,  but  was  all  promise. 
Its  seal  was  the  rainbow. 

3.  Covenant  with  Abraham  at  seventy-five  years  of  age  (Gen. 
12:4),  called  "Covenant  confirmed  of  God  in  Christ"  (Gal.  3^8-17). 
This  contained  two  promises;  one  respecting  the  natural  offspring  of 
Abraham — '1  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation" — and  one  respecting  the 
seed  Christ — "In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed."  This  was  the  gospel 
preached  to  Abraham ;  the  prototype  of  the  New  Covenant.  This  was 
followed  by  two  subordinate  covenants  growing  therefrom. 

4.  Covenant  with  Abraham  at  eighty -six  years  of  age  (Gen.  15), 
by  which  an  inheritance  was  promised  to  his  family,  and  was  con- 
firmed by  a  sacrifice. 

5.  Covenant  with  Abraham  at  ninety-nine  years  of  age  (Gen.  17), 
by  which  a  special  providence  was  secured  to  his  descendants  and  was 
confirmed  by  circumcision.  Hence  it  was  called  "Covenant  of  Circum- 
cision" (Acts  7:8).  These  two  covenants  were  later  developed  into  a 
great  national  institution,  viz. : 

6.  Covenant  with  all  Israel  at  Sinai  (Exod.  19-20),  by  which  the 
Jewish  state  was  constituted.  This  was  identical  with  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, to  which  other  laws  were  attached,  as  the  laws  of  a  land 
to  the  constitution  of  the  same.  It  is  called  the  "Old  Covenant,"  or 
sometimes  merely  the  Law.  It  was  confirmed  by  appropriate  sacrifices. 
Its  mediator  was  Moses.  Its  type  was  Hagar.  It  led  to  bondage.  It 
gave  only  temporal  blessings,  and  was  appropriately  conditioned. 

7.  Covenant  with  Aaron  (Exod.  40:13-5),  by  which  the  priesthood 
was  promised  to  his  family. 

8.  Covenant  with  David  (2  Sam.  7:12-7),  by  which  the  scepter  of 
Israel  was  confirmed  to  his  seed. 

9.  New  Covenant.    He  says  (Chr.  Bap'm  100) :    ^'The  gospel  is, 


48  Thh  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

indeed,  presented  in  the  form  of  a  covenant.  The  Messiah  seals  it  as  his 
covenant — "the  new."  ''the  better,"  "the  everlasting  covenant."  He  is 
himself  both  the  covenant  and  the  Mediator  of  it,  as  he  is  himself  the 
victim,  the  altar,  and  the  priest.  We  are  said  to  he  "in  Christ  f  hut  he- 
fore  we  are  in  him,  we  must  come  into  him  hy  covenant.  He  is  the  oath 
of  God  accomplished,  and  we  take  the  vow;  God  is  the  covenanter, 
Christ  the  covenant,  and  we  the  covenantees ;  we  are  reconciled  to  God 
through  him.  He  sealed  the  covenant  with  his  own  blood.  The  Lord's 
supper  is  the  pledge  of  it.  But  he  will  have  us  to  die,  to  be  buried,  and 
to  rise  again  for  him,  as  he  died,  was  buried,  and  rose  again  for  us. 
Hence  the  institution  of  Christian  baptism.  We  must  pass  through  the 
solemn  sign,  and  must  lie  with  him  in  the  grave  and  rise  with  him  to  a 
new  and  better  life.  These  are  outward  signs  of  an  inzvard  and  true  and 
real  covenant  with  the  Lord,  by  and  through  which  we  individually,  each 
one  for  him.self,  are  made  partakers  of  the  fullness  of  the  blessings  of 
the  gospel  of  Christ." 

Thus,  upon  this  framework  of  nine  covenants,  Mr.  Campbell  con- 
structed an  elaborate  Biblical  Theology.  He  had  no  other  system,  and 
he  was  accustomed  to  confound  his  opponents  by  his  ready  reference 
to  the  Scriptures  and  by  the  use  of  their  authority  on  his  side.  He  was 
also  in  the  habit  of  singlir.g  out  the  covenants  which  concentrate  in  the 
Jewish  Institution  and  those  which  develop  into  the  Christian  Institu- 
tion, and  then  contrasting  them  as  "flesh  and  spirit,"  necessity  and  lib- 
erty, type  and  reality,  shadow  and  substance,  Law  and  Gospel,  the  Old 
and  the  Nev/  Testaments.  He  held  that  the  latter  alone  was  binding  on 
the  Christian,  and  that  the  Old  Testament  was  abolished  in  so  far  as  it 
was  not  re-enacted  in  Christ.     (Chr.  Bap'm  102-15). 

This  distinction  of  nine  covenants  on  Biblical  grounds  was  the  real 
classification  of  Mr.  Campbell ;  but  he  also  fell  back  on  the  older  division 
into  dispensations  when  he  had  occasion  to  do  so.  (C.  B.  495,  Chr. 
Bap'm  60).  These  are  the  Patriarchal,  Jewish  and  Christian  dispensa- 
tions. They  contrast  as  the  starlight,  moonlight  and  sunlight  ages  of 
the  world. 

Thus,  when  Mr.  Campbell  gave  answer  to  the  question,  "What  shall 
I  do  to  be  saved?"  he  did  so  in  the  strict  terminology  of  the  covenant 
idea.  Religion,  which  is  the  means  of  restoration  of  fallen  man  to  his 
lost  estate,  consists  of  two  parts:  (i)  What  God  has  done  for  us;  (2) 
What  we  must  do  for  ourselves.  (Chr.  Sys.  36) .  Three  things  are  done 
for  us.  Christ  our  passover  has  been  sacrificed.  He  has  become  our 
prophet ;  he  has  been  made  Lord.  All  are  summed-  up  in  the  gift  of 
Jesus,  our  Mediator  as  prophet,  priest  and  king.     Other  things  are 


The  Covenant  Thkoeogy.  49 

promised  to  be  done,  but  these  are  done  already  (Chr.  Sys.  54-5)-  'The 
things  done  by  us  are  likewise  three,  viz. :  Faith  in  Christ,  Repentance, 
and  Baptism 'into  His  name  (Chr.  Sys.  55-67;  Chr.  Bap'm  115).  At 
this  point  another  gift  comes  from  God— the  Holy  Spirit  (Chr.  Sys.  68) . 
This  continues  as  our  helper  and  guide,  to  which  our  duty  is  to  respond 
by  walking  in  the  Christian  Life. 

But  the  most  evident  dependence  on  the  Covenant  Theology  is  Mr, 
Campbell's  philosophy  of  baptism.  This,  stated  in  his  own  terms,  is 
(Chr.  Bap'm  117):  "Besides,  it  (baptism)  is  a  peculiar  and  positive 
ordinance.  All  admit  that  baptism  is  a  positive  ordinance;  and  that 
positive  precepts,  as  contradistinguished  from  moral  precepts,  indicate 
the  special  will  of  a  sovereign  in  some  exact  and  zv ell-de-fined  action,  the 
nature,  form  and  necessity  of  which  arise  not  from  our  own  a  priori 
reasonings  about  utility  of  expediency,  but  from  the  clearly-expressed 
will  of  the  lazvgiver.  It  is  farther  universally  agreed  that  circumcision 
was  a  positive  and  not  a  moral  institution,  made  right  and  obligatory  by 
the  mere  force  of  a  positive  law."  This  was  the  chief  premise  to  his 
argument  on  both  the  subject  and  action  of  baptism.  As  arising  from 
the  express  will  of  a  lawgiver,  it  must  have  been  a  specific  precept  en- 
joining a  specific  action.  Hence,  it  could  not  have  come  in  the  room  of 
circumcision;  no  other  action  could  be  substituted  for  it,  as  sprinkling, 
pouring,  etc.  This  distinction  between  positive  and  moral  precepts 
clearlv  dates  back  to  the  L^x  Naturae  and  Lex  Instituta  of  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas (See  p.  37),  and  is  found  in  all  political  and  theological  theories 
since  that  time  ( See  Grotius'  "De  Jure  Belli  et  Pacis,"  Chapter  I,  Sees. 
2,  9  and  10). 

Campbell  thus  cites  the  current  doctrine  in  his  Debate  with  Walker,  p. 
45 :  "We  have  often  heard  that  Divine  Commandments  or  Ordinances 
have  been  correctly  divided  into  two  classes;  by  some  called  moral 
natural  and  moral  positive  ;  by  others,  merely  moral  and  positive.  When 
these  distinctions  are  explained  in  the  following  sense  (which  we  believe 
to  be  the  true  meaning  of  the  distinction),  we  consider  them  scriptur- 
ally  correct.  By  mora'  positive,  or  positive,  we  understand  those  that 
depend  entirely  for  their  moral  obligation  upon  some  express  precept  of 
the  Deity ;  the  propriety  of  which  nature,  in  its  most  perfect  state,  could 
not  discover.  The  prohibition  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil ;  the  appomtment  of  sacrifice ;  of  resting  on  the  Sabbath  or 
seventh  day,  were  of  this  nature.  *  *  *  *  Moral  precepts  are 
such  as  respect  our  duty  to  our  fellow  creatures,  and  are  in  some  degree 
more  or  less  discernible  by  mankind  even  now,  and  were  perfectly  so 
previous  to  the  fall,  merely  by  the  light  of  nature.  Thus,  for  instance, 
(4) 


50  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

Adam  in  Paradise,  without  a  law,  knew  that  it  was  right  to  love  his 
wife,  to  cherish  and  protect  her  as  himself.  And  now,  though  fallen, 
men  perceive  such  virtues  as  truth,  honesty  and  common  justice  to  be, 
in  the  nature  of  things,  necessary  and  right.  Though  they  may  differ 
much  in  the  extent  and  accuracy  of  their  views  on  these  topics,  yet  they 
must  perceive,  in  some  degree  at  least,  that  they  are  in  themselves  right. 
Of  the  heathen^  the  apostle  saith :  'Their  conscience  bearing  them 
Vvdtness,  and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  accusing  or  else  excusing  one 
another.'     (Rom.  2:15)." 

The  two  classes  aie  contrasted: 

"In  positive  institutions,  the  obligation  is  altogether  in  the  com- 
mand; but  in  moral  duties  the  obligation  is  not  only  in  the  command 
but  also  in  the  nature  of  things.  Hence,  it  has  been  correctly  said,  the 
former  are  right  because  they  are  commanded,  and  the  latter  are  com- 
manded because  they  are  right.  In  positive  institutions,  the  Divine 
authority  commanding  is  that  which  the  subject  views  in  his  obedience; 
in  moral  precepts,  he  views  also  the  rational  and  moral  use  and  beauty 
of  the  duty  commanded.  In  positive  institutions,  we  are  not  authorized 
to  reason  what  we  should  do,  but  implicitly  to  obey.  'See  [said  God  to 
Moses]  that  thou  make  all  things  to  the  pattern  shewed  thee  in  the 
Mount.'  Not  whether  it  be  rational  or  proper  to  do  so ;  but  go,  do  if. 
In  moral  requirements  we  are  clearly  shewn  and  commanded  to  per- 
form certain  duties,  but  left  at  liberty  to  reason,  to  ascertain  in  what 
these  duties  consist." 

Thus  Baptism  was  placed  in  a  category  apart  from  faith  and  re- 
pentance and  the  ordinary  acts  of  the  Christian  life.  It  had  a  peculiar 
place  in  the  Christian  system.  Like  the  command ''not  to  eat  of  the  tree 
of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,"  it  was  placed  at  the  beginning  of  a 
new  state;  as  a  test  of  obedience  and  trial  of  loyalty  to  God  (C.  B.  470, 
Chr.  Sys.  28).  This  test  was  sufficient  to  determine  one's  whole  char- 
acter. Compliance  with  this  precept  meant  the  acceptance  of  the  Cove- 
nant of  Christ.  This  explains  the  immense  importance  attached  to 
Baptism  by  Mr.  Campbell,  and  the  cardinal  place  it  has  always  had  in  the 
practice  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ. 

Thus  the  influence  of  Mr.  Campbell's  covenant  theology  is  evident : 

1.  He  appeared  with  this  doctrine  on  the  frontier  of  America, 
among  the  Presbyterians  and  Baptists,  the  strong  supporters  of  Calvin- 
ism in  this  country.  It  was  only  natural  that  his  teachings  of  the  pro- 
gress of  revelation,  of  freedom  from  the  Law,  of  the  importance  of 
Baptism,  should  awaken  intense  hostility.    Its  issue  was  inevitable. 

2.  He  also  represented  the  time-spirit  (Zeitgeist)  of  the  American 


The  Covenant  Theology.  5J^ 

Republic.  He  came  in  line  with  the  great  social  and  political  movements 
of  his  day.  He  was  the  voice  of  democracy,  of  individualism  in  the 
religious  sphere.  This  was  one  secret  of  his  power.  His  answer  to 
the  question,  "What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?"  in  the  terms  of  the  cove- 
nant was  easy  to  be  understood.  It  appealed  to  one's  sense  of  self 
and  of  his  civic  relations.  It  avoided  the  fatalism,  the  pessimism,  the 
mysticism  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  calls  to  the  unconverted.  It 
called  forth  one's  own  initiative,  gave  specific  demands  for  action,  and 
a  prompt  and  ready  assurance  to  him  who  sought  the  way  of  the  Lord. 
Its  advocate  was  popular  in  speech,  powerful  in  debate;  the  common 
people  heard  him  gladly. 

3,  Here  also  is  evident  the  Legalism  with  which  the  followers  of 
Mr.  Campbell  have  often  been  reproached.  This  is  not  of  the  Jewish 
sort,  a  law  of  external  details,  not  Mosaism.  It  is  not  of  the  Romish 
sort, — a  law  of  merit  by  works — not  from  the  Roman  law.  But  it  is 
from  Modern  Law — Grotius,  Locke,  Rousseau — the  social  contract,  the 
covenant  as  a  basis  of  all  relations.  Religion  is  made  such  a  contract. 
The  temptation  is  to  make  a  good  bargain — to  get  as  much  and  give  as 
little  as  possible.  It  is  Commercialism.  We  must  bear  in  mind  the 
spirit  of  trade  out  of  which  these  concepts  were  born  far  back  in  the 
Netherlands.  We  must  admit  that  this  legalism  lies  as  the  greatest 
danger  of  the  Current  Reformation,  and  seek  to  correct  any  tendency 
thereto  by  a  vital  religious  experience,  and  by  a  grasp  of  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God,  as  was  held  by  Mr.  Campbell  and  the  founders  of  this 
movement. 


CHAPTER  III. 
Thi^  Phii^osophy  0^  Locke:. 

In  Great  Britain  the  Reformation  brought  no  theological  move- 
ments of  importance.  The  theology  of  the  island  was  but  a  reflection  of 
the  thought  of  the  continent.  All  the  schools  were  represented — Luth- 
eran, Calvinist,  Armniian,  Coccejan.  In  Scotland  Calvinism  gained  the 
ascendancy,  due  to  John  Knox.  But  the  Anglican  Church  ever  held  a 
mediating  position.  The  English  mind  is  practical.  The  interest  was 
not  in  theology  but  in  church  polity.  Hence,  the  dividing  lines  were 
between  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Congregationalists.  It  is  in  an- 
other sphere — PHILOSOPHY — that  we  are  to  see  the  real  importance 
of  English  thought. 

In  Modern  Philosophy,  up  to  the  nineteenth  century,  there  were  two 
great  movements — the  English  and  the  Continental.  The  first  is  called 
Empiricism.  Its  motto  was,  ''There  is  nothing  in  the  intellect  which  was 
not  first  in  the  senses."  Bacon,  Hobbes,  Locke,  Berkeley,  Hume  made 
the  series.  The  second  school  is  Rationalism.  Its  motto  was,  "The 
laws  of  thought  are  the  laws  of  things."  Its  method  was  reasoning,  de- 
duction. Descartes,  Spinoza,  Leibnitz,  Wolff,  were  its  leaders.  Kant 
marks  the  union  of  the  rwo  and  the  beginning  of  a  new  era. 

Let  us  examine  the  work  of  the  two  great  leaders  of  these  series  as 
a  preparation  for  that  of  John  Locke,  in  whom  we  have  the  immediate 
interest. 

Bacon  broke  away  from  the  Aristotelian  logic  and  the  Scholastic 
systems  of  his  predecessors,  and  called  men's  attention  from  words  to 
things.  To  know  the  truth  of  the  objects  about  us,  he  said,  let  us  look 
at  them — not  reason  about  them.  His  appeal  was  to  observation  and  to 
induction  from  the  facts.  He  was  the  father  of  inductive  logic  and  the 
modern  scientific  method. 

Descartes,  likewise,  broke  away  from  the  world-content  given  in 
Scholasticism  ;  and  called  back  from  the  objective  to  the  subjective,  from 
the  complex  to  the  simple.  He  said :  "Let  us  doubt  everything  until  we 
find  that  simple  state  of  consciousness  which  cannot  be  doubted ;  from 
this  starting  point  let  us  build  de  novo  the  world  of  knowledge.  In  this 
process  we  shall  accept  as  true  only  that  which  comes  to  us  with  the 

52 


The  Philosophy  of  Locke.  53 

same  clear  and  evident  conviction  as  the  axioms  of  mathematics."  In 
this  science  Descartes  was  eminent  before  he  began  his  studies  in  phi- 
losophy. He  now  sought  to  apply  his  old  method  to  work  in  the  new 
sphere. 

His  first  proposition  was  "Dubito"  (I  doubt).  But  then  he  said, 
**Non  potior  dubitare  me  dubitantem"  (I  cannot  doubt  that  I  doubt). 
At  least  I  maist  be  certain  of  one  thing — that  I  am  doubting,  or  of  the 
existence  of  the  doubter,  i.  e.,  I  know  that  I  doubt.  Or,  to  put  it  in  a 
positive  form:  "Cogito,  ergo  sum"  (I  think,  that  is,  I  am).  This  was 
the  central  proposition  of  his  w^hole  system.  From  this  point  he  said: 
I  am  certain 

(i)     Of  Self-Existence. 

(2)  Of  the  existence  of  God. 
The  argument  is  as  follows : 

I  have  an  idea  of  God.  It  is  the  idea  of  an  absolutely  perfect 
being.  As  perfect  it  contains  all  qualities.  One  of  these  quali- 
ties is  existence.  Hence  God  must  exist.  This  is  the  first  form 
of  the  famous  Ontological  argument. 

(3)  Of  the  existence  of  the  world. 

I  have  certain  ideas  of  things.    I  do  not  produce  these  ideas. 
They  are  independent  of  my  will.     Hence,  God  must  produce 
them.    But  God  as  perfect  cannot  deceive.    Hence,  things  must 
exist. 
Hence,  we  have  three  realities : 

(i)     God — the  Absolute  substance. 

(2)  Ego  (or  soul), — the  thinking  substance. 

(3)  World   (things), — the  extended  substance. 
Correspondingly,  there  are  three  kinds  of  ideas : 

( 1 )  Innate, 

As  God,  self,  mathematical  axioms,  etc. 

(2)  Adventitious, 

which  come  in  from  without,  as  of  the  things  of  the  world. 

(3)  Self-produced 

by  combination  of  those  given  by  the  other  sources. 

These  were  the  fiist  gleams  of  the  light  of  Modern  Philosophy. 
Bacon  and  Descartes  were  children  of  the  dawn  only.    Locke  took  over  • 
the  insights  of  these  early  seers  and  went  on  to  new  problems.   He  com- 
bined the  Empiricism  of  Bacon  with  the  Subjectivism  of  Descartes.    Let 
us  make  a  brief  sketch  of  this  thinker. 

John  Locke,  the  greatest  character  of  English  philosophy,  was  born 
at  Wrington,  England,  1632,  of  Puritan  parentage.     He  was  educated 


54  I'he  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

at  Oxford.  He  led  a  troublous  life  during  the  wars  of  Cromwell,  and 
later  settled  as  a  physician  at  Oxford.  There  (1667)  he  met  the  Earl 
of  Shaftesbury,  with  whose  political  fortunes  his  future  was  to  be  so 
much  identified.  As  attache  to  the  earl,  he  held  various  offices.  In 
1670  he  began  work  on  his  *'Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding."  In 
1672  he  was  made  Lord  Chancellor.  In  the  midst  of  the  cares  of  state 
he  worked  at  his  book.  In  1681,  Shaftesbury,  who  had  been  thrown 
into  prison,  escaped  into  Holland.  Locke,  being  under  suspicion,  soon 
followed.  There  Shaftesbury  died  in  exile.  Locke  met  Limborck  and 
the  scholars  of  the  Netherlands.  On  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary, 
in  1688,  he  returned  home.  He  brought  with  him  the  manuscript  of 
the  ''Essay,"  which  was  published  in  1690.  The  origin  of  this  epoch- 
making  book  has  been  well  stated  by  its  author : 

''Were  it  fit  to  trouble  thee  with  the  history  of  this  Essay,  I 
should  tell  thee  that  five  or  six  friends  meeting  at  my  chamber 
and  discoursing  on  a  subject  very  remote  from  this,  found  them- 
selves quickly  at  a  stand  by  the  difficulties  that  rose  on  every 
side.  After  we  had  a  while  puzzled  ourselves  without  coming 
any  nearer  a  resolution  of  those  doubts  which  perplexed  us,  it 
came  into  my  thoughts  that  we  took  a  wrong  course ;  and  that 
before  we  set  ourselves  upon  inquiries  of  that  nature,  it  was 
necessary  to  examine  our  ozvn  abilities,  and  see  what  objects 
our  understandings  zvere,  or  were  not,  -fitted  to  deal  zvith.  This 
I  proposed  to  the  company,  who  all  readily  assented ;  and  there- 
upon it  was  agreed  that  this  should  be  our  first  inquiry.  Some 
hasty  and  undigested  thoughts  on  a  subject  I  had  never  before 
considered,  which  I  set  down  against  our  next  meeting,  gave 
me  the  first  entrance  into  this  Discourse ;  which,  having  been 
thus  begun  by  chance,  was  continued  by  entreaty;  written  by 
incoherent  parcels;  and  after  long  intervals  of  neglect,  re- 
sumed again,  as  my  humor  or  occasions  permitted ;  and  at  last, 
in  a  retirement  where  an  attendance  on  my  health  gave  me 
leisure,  it  was  brought  into  the  order  that  thou  now  seest  it." 
James  Tyrrell  who  was  one  of  the  company,  v/rote  in  his  copy  of 
Locke  that  the  difficulties  in  question  were  the  "principles  of  morality 
and  revealed  religion." 

Thus  the  spring  of  Locke's  book  is  to  be  found  in  his  religious  in- 
terests. Its  outcome  will  show  his  final  purpose.  Let  us  make  a  brief 
analysis  of  this  wonderful  book. 

Locke's  problem  was  the  theory  of  knowledge ;  to  inquire  into  the 
original  (origin),  certainty  and  extent  of  human  knowledge,  together 


The  Philosophy  of  Locke.  55 

with  the  grounds  and  degrees  of  behef,  opinion  and  assent  (Essay  on 
Human  Understanding,  Int.  Sees.  2  and  3).  This  problem  was  threefold: 

1.  The  Origin  of  Knowledge. 

2.  The  degrees  of  certainty  in  the  various  kinds  of  knowledge. 

3.  The  Limits  of  Knowledge. 

Locke's  answer  to  the  first  question  was  his  famous  tabula  rasa. 
He  denied  the  existence  of  innate  ideas,  and  devoted  Book  1  to  a  bitter 
polemic  against  Cudworth,  More,  etc.,  the  English  disciple.^^.  of  Descartes. 
He  says  (Book  H,  Chap,  i,  Sees.  2,  3  and  4: 

"Let  us  then  suppose  the  mind  to  be,  as  we  say,  white  paper,  void 
of  all  characters,  without  any  ideas : —  How  comes  it  to  be  furnished  ? 
Whence  comes  it  by  that  vast  store  which  the  busy  and  boundless  fancy 
of  man  has  painted  on  it  with  an  almost  endless  variety?  Whence  has 
it  all  the  materials  of  reason  and  knowledge?  To  this  I  answer  in  one 
word,  from  EXPERIENCE.  In  that  all  our  knowledge  is  founded  ;  and 
from  that  it  ultimately  derives  itself.  Our  observation  employed  either 
about  external,  sensible  objects,  or  about  the  internal  operations  of  our 
minds  perceived  and  reflected  on  by  ourselves,  is  that  which  supplies 
our  understandings  with  all  the  materials  of  thinking.  These  two  are 
the  fountains  of  knowledge,  from  whence  all  the  ideas  we  have,  or  can 
naturally  have,  do  spring. 

First,  our  senses,  conversant  about  particular  sensible  objects,  do 
convey  into  the  mind  several  distinct  perceptions  of  things,  according  to 
those  various  ways  wherein  those  objects  do  affect  them.  .  .  .  This 
great  source  of  most  ideas  we  have,  depending  vvholly  upon  our  senses 
and  derived  by  them  to  the  understanding,  I  call  SENSATION. 

Secondly,  the  other  fountain  from  which  experience  furnisheth  the 
understanding  with  ideas  is, — the  perception  of  the  operations  of  our 
own  mind  within  us,  as  it  is  employed  about  the  ideas  it  has  got ;  which 
operations,  when  the  soul  comes  to  reflect  on  and  consider,  do  furnish 
the  understanding  with  another  set  of  ideas,  which  could  not  be  had 
from  things  without.  .  .  .  This  source  of  ideas  every  man  has 
wholly  in  himself ;  and  though  it  be  not  sense,  as  having  nothing  to  do 
with  external  objects,  yet  it  is  very  like  it,  and  might  properly  enough 
be  called  internal  sense.  But  as  I  call  the  other  Sensation,  I  call  this 
REFLECTION,  the  ideas  it  affords  being  such  only  as  the  mind  gets 
by  reflecting  on  its  own  operations  within  itself.  .  .  .  These  two,  I 
say,  viz.:  external,  material  things,  as  the  objects  of  SENSATION, 
and  the  operation  of  our  minds  within,  as  the  objects  of  REFLEC- 
TION, are  to  me  the  only  originals  from  whence  all  our  ideas  take  their 
beginnings." 


56  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reformation. 

Thus  Locke  held  that  the  mind  was  passive  in  knowing ;  that  it  be- 
gan with  nothing ;  that  all  knowledge  comes  from  without,  in.  He  was 
a  thoroughgoing  Empiricist.  A  few  definitions  will  help  us  to  under- 
stand this  philosophy. 

An  Idea  is  whatever  it  is  which  the  mind  can  be  employed  about  in 
thinking  (Int.  Sec.  8).  It  is  thus  a  general  term  for  the  crude  materials 
of  thought.  It  is  the  product  of  any  sense  or  internal  perception,  or  of 
any  previous  mental  activity.  It  is  any  "notion."  Ideas  are  thus  of 
two  kinds, — simple  and  complex  (Book  II,  Chap.  2,  Sec.  i).  Simple 
ideas  are  the  products  of  mere  sensation  and  reflection.  Complex  ideas 
are  formed  by  combination  of  simple  ideas  by  means  of  the  power  of 
Imagination.  This  is  the  source  of  all  general  ideas  in  the  mind.  These 
are  of  three  kinds, — modes,  substances  and  relations.  All  these  ideas 
are  to  be  distinguished  from  knowledge. 

Knowledge  is  "the  perception  of  the  connexion  of — and  agreement 
or  disagreement  or  repugnancy  of — any  of  our  ideas"  (Book  IV,  Chap, 
I,  Sec.  2).  This  agreement  or  disagreement  may  be  of  four  kinds, — a. 
Identity,    b.     Relation,     c.     Coexistence,     d.     Real  existence. 

This  leads  us  to  Locke's  second  question, — the  degrees  of  knowl- 
edge. These  arise  from  "the  different  way  of  perception  the  mind  has 
of  the  agreement  or  disagreement  of  any  of  its  ideas"  (Book  IV,  Chap.  2, 
Sec.  i).  When  the  mind  perceives  the  agreement  (or  disagreement) 
of  two  ideas  immediately  by  themselves  we  have  intuitive  knowledge. 
This  kind  of  knowledge  is  irresistible — seeing  is  believing — and  forms 
the  most  certain  conviction  possible.  Secondly,  when  the  perception  is 
made  "by  the  introduction  of  other  ideas"  we  have  demonstrative  knowl- 
edge. This  process  is  called  Reasoning.  It  is  not  so  certain  as  intuition, 
— a  cog  may  be  slipoed  in  the  connection.  Locke  concludes  (Book  IV, 
Chap.  2,  Sec.  14) : 

"These  two,  viz.,  intuition  and  demonstration,  are  the  degrees 

of  our  knowledge ;  whatever  comes  short  of  one  of  these,  with 

what  assurance  soever  embraced,  is  but  faith  or  opinion,  but 

not  knowledge,  at  least  in  all  general  truths." 

Thus  a  distinction  is  made  between  knowledge  proper,  which  gives 
certainty,  and  Judgment  or  Assent,  which  gives  only  probability  (Book 
IV,  Chap.  14,  Sec.  4).  This  latter  is  employed  in  all  cases  where  direct 
or  demonstrative  knowledge  cannot  be  had,  or  the  mind  is  too  lazy  to 
see  for  itself.  In  these  cases,  the  agreement  (or  disagreement)  of  ideas, 
instead  of  being  perceived  is  merely  presumed.  Hence,  the  conviction  is 
only  that  of  probability,  likelihood  to  be  true.  This  falls  into  two  classes, 
—Belief  and  Opinion  (Book  IV,  Chap.  15,  Sees.  3  and  4).    Belief  is  the 


The  Philosophy  of  Locke.  57 

acceptance  of  the  testimony  of  others.  It  deals  with  matters  of  fact, 
capable  of  observation,  but  without  the  circle  of  our  personal  knowledge. 
Its  credibility  depends  upon  a  number  of  circumstances,  as  the  number, 
integrity,  skill  and  design  of  the  witnesses,  the  consistency  of  its  parts 
and  contrary  testimonies.  When  dealing  with  matters  generally  accepted 
among  men,  it  approaches  near  to  certainty.  This  is  the  type  of  judg- 
ment possible  in  history.  Opinion  is  a  judgment  due  to  the  conformity 
of  anything  to  our  own  knowledge,  observation  and  experience.  It  deals 
with  tilings  beyond  the  reach  of  our  senses,  and  hence  not  capable  of  ob- 
servation  or  testimony.    It  is  judgment  by  analogy. 

Thus  Locke  arranges  the  de^frees  of  knowledge  on  a  descending 

scale : 

I.  Certainty. 

1.  Intuition. 

2.  Demonstration. 

II.  Probability. 

3.  BeHef. 

4.  Opinion. 

Belief  and  Opinion  are  at  the  bottom  of  this  scale  of  credibility. 
Over  this  whole  process  he  writes  the  word — Reason.     Reason  is  the 
discovery  of  truth  by  the  use  of  our  natural  faculties  (Book  IV,  Chap. 
18,  Sec.  2).       But  Locke  takes  care  not  to  stop  before  he  has  marked 
out  a  great  class  of  subject  matter  as  an  exception  to  the  above  rule,  and 
not  bound  by  its  scale  of  credibility  (Book  IV,  Chap.  16,  Sec.  14)  : 
"Besides  those  we  have  hitherto  mentioned  there  is  one  sort 
of  propositions  that  challenge  the  highest  degree  of  our  assent, 
upon  bare  testimony,  whether  the  thing  proposed  agree  or  dis- 
agree with  common  experience  and  the  ordinary  course  of 
things,  or  no.   The  reason  whereof  is,  because  the  testimony  is 
of  such  an  one  as  cannot  deceive  nor  be  deceived :  and  that  is, 
God  himself.    This  carries  with  it  an  assurance  beyond  doubt, 
ev^idence  beyond  exception.    This  is  called  by  a  peculiar  name, 
REVELATION,  and  our  assent  to  it,  FAITH,  which  (as  ab- 
solutely determines  our  minds  and  as  perfectly  excludes  all 
wavering)  as  our  knowledge  itself ;  and  we  may  as  well  doubt 
of  our  own  being,  as  we  can  whether  any  revelation  from  God 
be  true.    So  that  faith  is  a  settled  and  sure  principle  of  assent 
and  assurance  and  leaves  no  manner  of  room  for  doubt  or  hesi- 
tation.   Only  zve  must  he  sure  that  it  he  a  divine  revelation,  and 
that  we  understand  it  right:    else  we  shall  expose  ourselves  to 
to  all  the  extravagance  of  enthusiasm,  and  all  the  error  of 


58  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reformation. 

wrong  principles,  if  we  have  faith  and  assurance  in  what  is  not 
divine  revelation." 

Thus  Faith  is  the  assent  to  any  proposition,  not  made  by  the  deduc- 
tions of  reason  but  upon  the  credit  of  its  proposer,  as  coming  from  God, 
in  some  extraordinary  way  of  communication.  This  way  of  discovering 
truths  to  men  is  called  Revelation.  Thus  faith  in  a  Revelation  is  set  over 
against  Reason  in  exercise  upon  the  objects  of  natural  sense.  Locke 
affirms  a  complete  ^'duality  of  knovv^ledge,"  but  he  does  not  leave  the 
separate  spheres  unrelated.  His  doctrine  is  no  "Credo  quia  incredibilis 
est."  "No  m^an  inspired  by  God  can  by  any  revelation  communicate  to 
others  any  new  simple  ideas  which  they  had  not  before  from  sensation 
or  reflection."  Revelation  can  come  only  by  words  or  signs.  These  can 
go  no  further  than  man  has  ideas  corresponding  to  them.  Thus  only 
the  same  truths  may  be  discovered  and  conveyed  down  from  revelation 
which  are  discoverable  to  us  by  reason  and  by  those  ideas  we  naturally 
have.  Faith  is  not  a  sixth  sense,  but  only  the  five  senses  -aised  into  a 
higher  sphere.    Faith  must  not  contradict  Reason. 

"Because,  though  faith  be  founded  on  the  testimony  of  God 
(who  cannot  lie)  revealing  any  proposition  to  us :  yet  we  cannot 
have  an  assurance  of  its  being  a  divine  revelation  greater  than 
our  own  knowledge.  Since  the  whole  strength  of  the  certainty 
depends  upon  our  knowledge  that  God  revealed  it.  .  .  .For 
if  the  mind  of  man  can  never  have  a  clearer  (and  perhaps  not 
so  clear)  evidence  of  anything  to  be  a  divine  revelation,  as 
it  has  of  the  principles  of  its  own  reason,  it  can  never  have  a 
ground  to  quit  the  clear  evidence  of  its  reason,  to  give  a 
place  to  a  proposition  whose  revelation  has  not  a  greater  evi- 
dence than  these  principles  have." 

Thus  also  his  doctrine  is  no  "Credo  ut  intelligam."  It  is,  on  the 
other  hand,  an  "Intelligo  ut  credam."  We  must  know  that  God  revealed 
it  and  that  we  interpret  it  aright.  To  secure  this,  Locke  affirms  the 
complete  reasonableness  of  Revelation.  The  proper  matters  of  Faith 
are  those  above  Reason.  Reason  is  natural  revelation;  Revelation  is 
Reason  v/rit  large.  Thus  Locke's  outcome  shows  that  he  reached  his 
goal — the  vindication  of  the  "principles  of  morality  and  revealed  reli- 
gion." His  Essay  is  worthy  the  study  of  anyone  who  takes  a  serious 
view  of  life. 

Let  us  omit  the  study  of  the  limits  of  knowledge. 
We  shall  not  undertake  to  trace  the  historical  outcome  of  this  phi- 
losophy.   It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  Locke  Vv-as  the  father  of  all  that  fol- 
lows :  of  Bishop  Butler  and  Alexander  Campbell,  whose  proofs  of  Chris- 


The  Philosophy  of  Locke.  59 

tianity  were  based  on  Lockean  premises ;  of  Berkeley  and  Hume,  whose 
Idealism  and  Skepticism  were  but  the  driving  to  their  logical  conclu- 
sions of  certain  distinctions  of  Locke ;  of  Kant,  whose  Critical  Philoso- 
phy had  its  most  important  root  in  English  Emipiricism ;  of  Newton  and 
Laplace,  who  applied  the  principles  of  Locke's  theory  of  knowledge  to 
the  problems  of  natural  science ;  of  the  English  Deists  and  Voltaire,  who 
accepted  the  distinction  between  Reason  and  Faith  but  denied  the 
reality  of  any  revelation.  To  sketch  these  disparate  offsprings  would  be 
to  write  the  history  of  modern  philosophy.  This  is  not  necessary,  as  the 
connection  between  Locke  and  the  Current  Reformation  is  a  direct  one. 
Mr.  Campbell  fell  back  on  Locke,  and  combatted  most  bitterly  the  con- 
clusions of  most  of  his  successors. 

The  work  of  Locke  really  brought  forth  a  new  science,  viz :  Psy- 
chology. Lockeanism  has  been  taught  ever  since  in  colleges  all  over 
the  English-speaking  world  until  within  the  last  generation,  under  the 
title  of  "mental  philosophy."  But  to-day  it  is  supplanted  in  most  higher 
mstitutions  of  learning  by  Kantianism  or  some  form  of  German  philoso- 
phy. Thus  Lockean  Empiricism  remains  fixed  as  the  soil  of  mental, 
moral  and  religious  philosophy,  on  which  the  Current  Reformation  arose. 

There  remains  only  the  proof  of  the  dependence  of  the  leaders 
of  this  movement  on  the  popular  philosophy  for  the  forms  in  which 
they  couched  their  message,  and  the  significance  of  the  same  for  the 
success  or  failure  of  the  cause  for  which  they  pleaded.  We  shall  limit 
this  proof  to  two  arguments.  The  first  may  be  called  the  external  evi- 
dence, and  consists  in  showing  the  acquaintance  with  Locke  seen  in  Mn 
Campbell's  works,  and  the  respect  paid  to  him  therein.  The  second 
proof,  or  internal  evidence,  will  be  the  showing  of  a  correspondence 
between  the  two  thinkers  on  the  primary  topics  discussed  by  them. 

I.  Alexander  Campbell  studied  the  writings  of  Locke  carefully,  as 
a  part  of  his  early  education  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  33-4).  He  always  held 
him  in  the  highest  esteem.  He  calls  him  the  "Christian  philosopher"  par 
excellence  (C.  B.  82;  Ov/en  Deb.  262).  In  all  his  lists  of  illustrious  men 
he  gives  Locke  a  prominent  place  (Harb.  30,  42;  Purcell  Deb.  329). 
As  in  Harb.  30,  51 :  "If  Paul,  Peter,  Wickliffe,  Luther,  Milton,  Locke, 
Newton,  Franklin,  Washington  were  to  appear  among  us."  He  con- 
fesses agreement  with  him  in  questions  of  philosophy  (C.  B.  662;  Owen 
Deb.  50),  in  his  interpretations  of  the  Scriptures  (C.  B.  194;  Harb.  s^y 
274),  and  in  his  eft'orts  toward  Christian  Union  (Harb.  44,  12;  Owen 
Deb.  262).  He  makes  many  excerpts  from  the  works  of  Locke  (See  C. 
B.  194,  373-4;  Owen  Deb.  121 ;  Harb.  ^2,  274;  Harb.  36,  253,  463,  589; 
Harb.  44  ,12,  etc.).    He  is  never  sparing  in  his  tributes. 


60  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

II.  But  the  agreement  is  best  made  out  by  the  correspondence  of 
the  two  in  many  essential  points  of  doctrine : 

I.  Theory  of  Knowledge.  Mr.  Campbell  took  a  firm  stand  for 
the  tabula  rasa  conception  of  the  origin  of  knowledge.  This  is  best  seen 
in  the  Debate  with  Owen,  his  work  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  He 
prepared  for  this  discussion  by  a  study  of  the  history  of  philosophy, 
especially  of  the  skeptical  systems  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  (Owen 
Deb.  48,  63,  164).  He  made  his  first  argument  on  an  analysis  of  the 
powers  of  the  human  mind.  Referring  to  Locke,  Hume,  etc.,  he  said 
(Ibid  50)  : 

''They  all  agree  that  all  our  original  ideas  are  the  results  of 
sensation  and  reflection ;  that  is,  that  the  five  senses  inform  us 
of  the  properties  of  bodies,  that  our  five  senses  are  the  only 
avenues  through  which  ideas  of  material  objects  can  be  derived 
to  us;  that  we  have  an  intellectual  power  of  comparing  these 
impressions  thus  derived  to  us  through  the  media  of  the  senses ; 
and  this  they  call  reflection.  Admitting  this  theory  to  be  cor- 
rect (Mr.  Owen  has  doubted  it),  but  if  it  be  correct,  that  all  our 
simple  ideas  are  the  result  of  sensation  and  reflection,  how  can 
we  have  any  idea  the  archetype  of  which  does  not  exist  in 
nature?" 

(See  Ibid  76,  89). 

But  the  idea  of  God  and  his  creating  power  has  no  archetype  in 
nature.  It  was  not  received  through  the  senses.  It  could  not  be  origin- 
ated with  the  imagination,  for  this  has  only  power  to  combine  ideas 
already  given  through  sensation  and  reflection  (Ibid  51).  But  we  must 
admit  that  all  nations  have  the  idea  of  the  First  Great  Cause.  How  did 
it  come  to  them?  Only  through  some  original  revelation.  This  is  true 
of  all  the  supernatural  ideas  developed  by  the  Christian  religion  (Ibid 
89).  Hence  the  necessity  of  an  immediate  and  direct  revelation.  This 
left  only  a  second  task, — to  prove  that  "we  have  reasonable  grounds  to 
believe  the  truth  and  certamty  of  the  apostolic  testimony."  This  testi- 
mony consists  of  matters  of  fact,  and  is  to  be  tested  by  the  criteria  of  all 
historical  evidence  (Ibid  173-5).  By  this  process  Mr.  Campbell  seeks 
to  prove  the  credibility  of  the  Hebrew  and  Christian  Scriptures,  and 
thereby  the  truth  of  Christianity. 

It  is  striking  that  the  major  premise  of  this  notable  argument  was 
the  Empirical  Philosophy  of  Locke  and  Hume.  It  was  given  with  due 
acknowledgment  of  its  source,  and  taken  as  a  position  universally  ac- 
cepted by  the  intellis^ent  world.  This  theory  of  knowledge  is  evident  in 
all  psychological  references  of  Mr.  Campbell  (C.  B.  82,  375,  594;  Chr. 


The  Philosophy  of  Locke.  6X 

Bap'm  291-4).    There  are  no  innate  ideas.    All  knowledge  comes  from 
without,  in.    As  he  says  (Chr.  Bap'm  25)  : 

''The  links  in  this  divine  chain  of  moral  and  spiritual  instrumentality 
are,  therefore,  five, — facts,  testimony,  faith,  feeling,  action;  the  end  of 
which  is  salvation.  The  whole  revelation*  of  God  is  arranged  upon  this 
theory  or  view  of  man's  constitution." 

This  leads  to  a  second  correspondence : 

2.  Origin  of  Language.  In  accordance  with  this  theory  of  knowl- 
edge, Mr.  Campbell  held  that  human  speech  is  not  natural,  but  imitative; 
that,  like  the  ideas  of  God,  priest,  sacrifice,  etc.,  it  came  of  divine  origin, 
and  that  all  later  languages  came  from  the  corruption  of  this  original. 
This  theory  of  language  appeared  as  the  premise  to  the  second  argument 
of  the  Owen  Debate  (155-9),  which  he  sums  up  (Ibid  165)  : 

"We  have  shown  that  speech  is  neither  natural  to  man  nor  the  in- 
vention of  man;  that  infants  must  be  taught  to  speak  by  a  slow  and 
regular  process;  that  names  are  applied  to  things  and  ideas  in  conse- 
quence of  the  pre-existence  of  the  ideas  in  the  mind ;  that  the  idea  must 
always  necessarily  precede  the  name,  and  that  we  have  experimental 
proof  from  infants,  from  those  born  deaf  and  subsequently  restored  to 
hearing." 

It  appears  also  as  a  proof  of  the  probability  of  a  revelation  in  the 
"Christian  Baptism,"  p.  38. 

"God,  then,  must  have  taught  man  to  speak  viva  voce;  inasmuch  as 
language  is  only  an  imitation  of  distinct  intelligible  sounds ;  and  as  ail 
language  comes  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  another  {for  the 
deaf  have  no  zvords,  though  they  have  organs  of  pronunciation) ,  we 
must,  in  all  reason,  conclude  that  the  first  human  speaker  had  heard  God 
himself  speak. 

"No  class  of  linguists,  rhetoricians,  or* philosophers,  has  ever  been 
able  to  explain  the  origin  of  language  on  the  principles  of  human 
nature.  They  agree  on  one  point,  viz.,  that  it  was  not  originally  a  con- 
ventional  thing ;  that  no  com.pany  of  men  could  assemble  to  discuss  or 
decide  upon  it;  which  is,  if  properly  comprehended,  an  unanswerable 
proof  of  a  superhuman  origin.  So,  with  the  immortal  Newton,  we  con- 
elude  that  'God  gave  to  man  reason  and  religion  by  giving  hirn  the  use 
of  words.'  " 

Hence,  then,  if  God  has  spoken  to  man,  it  is  probable  that  he  still 
so  speaks,  i.  e.,  by  way  of  a  revelation. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  doctrine,  like  the  above,  is  the  direct 
outgrowth  of  the  Empirical  Philosophy.  It  is  expresslv  so  stated  in 
Book  III  "On  Words"  in  Locke's  Essay.    It  bears  an  important  function 


62  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

in  the  conception  of  both  faith  and  revelation  of  Locke  and  Campbell. 
3.     Distinction  between  knowledge,  belief  and  opinion.     This  is 
stated  also  in  the  Owen  Debate  (68),  where  Mr.  Campbell  takes  his  op- 
ponent to  task  for  a  confusion  of  terms : 

"I  am  apprehensive  that  he  (Mr.  Owen)  confounds  or  uses 
interchangeably  the  terms  belief,  knowledge  and  opinion.  Be- 
lief always  depends  upon  the  testimony  of  others ;  knowledge 
upon  the  evidence  of  our  senses ;  opinion  upon  our  own  rea- 
sonings. I  do  not,  in  strict  propriety  of  language,  believe  by 
my  own  eyes,  any  more  than  I  hear  by  my  fingers.  I  knov/ 
that  this  desk  is  before  me ;  I  do  not  believe  it.  We  know  that 
Mr.  Owen  is  here,  but  we  cannot  believe  it.  I  know  that  which 
is  communicated  to  my  sensorium  through  the  avenues  of  my 
senses;  and  all  that  is  thus  communicated  we  denominate 
knowledge.  On  the  other  hand,  belief  has  exclusive  reference 
to  testimony ;  and  opinion  merely  expresses  different  degrees  of 
probability ;  and  after  weighing  these  probabilities  we  say  that 
we  are  of  this  or  that  or  the  other  opinion/' 

Thus  Mr.  Campbell  accepts  the  Lockean  scale  of  certainty  and  ap- 
plies this  logic  in  all  his  reasonings.  Like  his  master,  he  set  faith  aside 
as  working  in  the  sphere  of  revelation,  and  gave  it  the  highest  cre- 
dence. Thus  he  held  to  the  strict  duality  of  knowledge, — reason  and 
revelation  (C.  B.  4,  589) — and  gave  the  characteristic 

4.  Definition  of  Faith.  Faith  is  the  belief  of  testimony  (Chr. 
Bap'm  64).  It  differs  only  from  ordinary  belief  in  that  it  is  directed 
toward  a  revelation  of  God.  Thus  he  held  that  the  efficacy  of  faith 
rested  in  the  truth  believed  (Ibid  69)  ;  that  its  strength  depended  upon 
the  clearness  and  force  of  the  testimony.  He  repudiated  all  subjective 
distinctions : 

''Some  superficial  thinkers  have  spoken  and  written  much 
upon  different  kinds  of  faith.    They  have  'historical'  and  *sav- 
ing'  faith,  the  'faith  of  miracles,'  and  the  'faith  of  devils.'  etc. 
These  are  conceits  of  the  old  metaphysical  theologians  and  have 
done  a  world  of  mischief.    By  placing  historical  and  saving  or 
divine  faith  in  contrast,  they  have  bewildered  themselves  and 
their  followers.    There  Is  no  faith  worth  anything  that  is  not 
historical ;  for  all  our  religion  is  founded  upon  history." 
Hence  Mr.  Campbell  and  his  followers  spent  little  time  in  exhorting 
men  to  pray  for  faith.    They  sought  to  present  the  Gospel,  give  the  di- 
vine testimony,  and  believed  that  faith  must  come  as  a  necessity  if  this 
course  Is  pursued.    Just  as  the  sensible  object  compels  recognition  if  we 


The  Philosophy  of  Locke.  63 

open  our  eyes  upon  it,  evidence  compels  faith,  which  is  voluntary  only 
in  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  turn  away  from  the  truth.  All  this  is  a  con- 
sistent application  of  the  Empirical  Philosophy.  For  it  Mr.  Campbell 
was  often  reproached  that  he  considered  faith  as  merely  an  intellectual 
process.  This  was  true  only  in  that  he  gave  to  faith  the  primacy.  The 
relation  to  faith  of  the  so-called  moral  or  emotional  factor,  with  its  set- 
ting, Is  portrayed  in  a  splendid  passage  (Chr.  Bap'm  293)  : 

'•So  true  it  is  that  all  our  ideas  of  the  sensible  universe  are  the 
result  of  sensation  and  reflection.  All  the  knowledge  we  have  of  material 
nature  has  been  acquired  by  the  exercise  of  our  senses  and  of  our  reason 
upon  those  discoveries.  With  regard  to  the  supernatural  knowledge,  or 
the  knowledge  of  God,  that  comes  wholly  'by  faith/  and  'faith'  itself 
'comes  by  hearing.'  This  aphorism  is  divine.  Faith  is,  therefore,  a  con- 
sequence of  hearing,  and  hearing  is  an  effect  of  speaking ;  for,  hearing 
comes  by  the  Word  of  God  spoken,  as  much  as  faith  itself  comes  by 
hearing.  The  intellectual  and  moral  arrangement  is,  therefore:  i.  The 
word  spoken;  2.  Hearing;  3.  Believing;  4.  Feeling;  5.  Doing.  Such  is 
the  constitution  of  the  human  mind — a  constitution  divine  and  excellent, 
adapted  to  man's  position  in  the  universe.  It  is  never  violated  in  the 
moral  government  of  God.  Religious  action  is  uniformly  the  effect  of 
religious  feeling ;  that  is  the  effect  of  faith ;  that  of  hearing ;  and  that  of 
something  spoken  by  God." 

In  no  case  is  mere  faith  enough.  Mr.  Campbell  simply  put  the 
content  given  to  faith  by  many  of  his  contemporaries  into  other  terms. 
When  exercised  upon  a  person,  it  becomes  warm,  almost  active  (Chr. 
Sys.  56) : 

"While  then  faith  is  the  simple  belief  of  testimony,  or  of  the  truth, 
and  never  can  be  more  or  less  than  that ;  as  a  principle  of  action  it  has 
respect  to  a  person  or  thing  interesting  to  us,  and  is  confidence  or  trust 
in  that  person  or  thing.  Now  the  belief  of  what  Christ  says  of  himself 
terminates  in  trust  or  confidence  in  him;  and  as  the  Christian  religion 
is  a  personal  thing,  both  as  respects  subject  and  object,  that  faith  in 
Christ  which  is  essential  to  salvation  is  not  the  belief  of  any  doctrine, 
testimony  or  truth,  abstractly,  but  belief  in  Christ ;  trust  or  confidence  in 
him  as  a  person,  not  a  thing." 

Mr.  Campbell  made  a  summary  of  faith  in  the  single  proposition — 
"Jesus  is  the  Messiah  ;  the  Son  of  God"  (Chr.  Bap'm  73).  It  is  interest- 
ing to  know  that  this  proposition  was  made  the  thesis  of  one  of  Locke's 
books,  "The  Reasonableness  of  Christianity"  (pp.  loi,  195).  Although 
the  writer  has  searched  carefully  through  Mr.  Campbell's  works  for 
references  to  this  book,  he  has  found  none.     It  is  probable  that  Mr. 


54  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reeormation. 

Campbell  did  not  have  it  in  his  library.  The  agreement  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  from  a  common  point  of  view  (C.  B.  193). 

5.  Doctrine  of  Revelation.  Mr.  Campbell's  doctrine  of  revelation 
is  to  be  understood  from  this  setting.    He  says  (Owen  Deb.  146)  : 

*'But  I  must  tell  you,  while  speaking  of  revelation,  that  perhaps  I 
am  misunderstood ;  and  certainly  I  am,  if  I  am  supposed  to  use  this  term 
in  the  vulgar  sense.  For  now  it  is  usual  to  call  the  whole  Bible  a  reve- 
lation from  God.  I  must  explain  myself  here.  There  are  a  thousand 
historic  facts  narrated  in  the  Bible  which  it  would  be  absurd  to  regard 
as  immediate  and  direct  revelation  from  the  Almighty.  Paine  defines 
revelation  very  accurately,  although  he  did  not  believe  we  had  any, 
properly  so-called.  He  says,  page  14,  ''Age  of  Reason:"  ''Revelation 
cannot  be  applied  to  anything  done  upon  earth.  It  is  a  communication 
of  something  which  the  person  to  whom  the  thing  is  revealed  did  not 
know  before" — and,  I  add,  could  not  otherwise  know.  (That  intelli- 
gence which  could  never  have  been  derived  to  us  through  the  agency  of 
our  senses).  ''Consequently,  all  the  historical  and  anecdotal  part  of  the 
Bible  is  not  within  the  compass  and  meaning  of  the  word  revelation.'* 
Revelation,  from  the  import  of  the  term,  must  be  supernatural.  But  the 
historic  parts  of  both  Testaments  present  a  great  variety  of  topographical 
facts  and  incidents,  colloquies  between  friends  and  enemies,  of  apostles, 
prophets  and  patriarchs,  and  of  distinguished  persons,  good  and  evil; 
wars,  intrigues,  amours  and  crimes  of  every  dye.  Now  it  would  be 
neither  philosophical  nor  rational  to  dignify  and  designate  these  collo- 
quies, narratives,  geographical  and  biographical  notices,  etc.,  by  the 
term  revelation.  The  term  revelation,  in  its  strict  acceptation  among 
intelligent  Christians,  means  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  Divine  com- 
munication concerning  spiritual  and  eternal  things,  a  knowledge  of 
which  man  could  never  have  attained  by  the  exercise  of  his  reason  upon 
material  and  sensible  objects ;  for  as  Paul  says,  'Things  which  the  eye 
has  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  has  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man 
to  conceive,  has  God  revealed  to  us  apostles,  and  we  declare  them  to 
you.' " 

"In  the  Old  Testament,  to  distinguish  the  ordinary  information  from 
the  Divine  communications,  such  intimations  are  made  as  'The  zvord  of 
the  Lord'  or  'A  message  from  the  Lord  came'  to  such  a  person.  Some- 
times, 'The  Lord  said.'  But  in  the  New  Testament,  the  phrase  'The 
Word'  or  'The  zvord  of  the  Lord'  or  'The  Truth'  is  almost  exclusively 
appropriated  to  the  testimony  which  God  gave  concerning  the  person  and 
mission  of  Jesus  Christ." 

(See  also  C.  B.  344-5;  Chr.  Bap'm  51-4). 


Doctrine  of  Inspiration.  65 

This  was  thoroughgoing  Empiricism.     To  save  himself  from  re- 
proach, Mr.  Campbell  was  very  careful  to  add  (Chr.  Bap'm  51-2)  : 

"But  besides  this  inspiration  of  original  and  supernatural  ideas, 
there  was  another  species  of  supernatural  aid  afforded  the  saints  who 
wrote  the  historical  parts  of  the  sacred  scriptures.  There  was  a  revival 
in  their  minds  of  what  they  themselves  had  seen  and  heard;  and  in 
reference  to  traditions  handed  down,  such  a  superintendency  of  the 
Spirit  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  as  excluded  the  possibility  of  mistake 
in  the  matters  of  fact  which  they  recorded.  The  promise  "of  leading 
into  aU  truth,"  and  the  promise  of  "bringing  all  things  before  known  to 
remem.brance"  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  include  all  that  we  understand  by 
inspiration  in  its  primary  and  secondary  import."     (So.  C.  B.  345)- 

This  was  in  reality  the  distinction  between  revelation  and  inspira- 
tion  (See  p.  27)-  Mr.  Campbell  meant  to  state  his  doctrine  so  as  to  free 
it  from  many  of  the  objections  of  skeptics  (Owen  Deb.  147;  C.  B.  344), 
and  did  not  intend  to  remit  the  orthodox  dogma.  In  thus  placing  Reve- 
lation in  a  class  by  itself,  Mr.  Campbell  held  firmly  to  the  Lockean  doc- 
trine of  its  relation  to  Reason,  which  must  decide  whether  it  be  a  reve- 
lation and  whether  we  interpret  it  aright  or  not.  He  lays  down  his 
rules  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  two  methods  of  knowledge  (C.  B. 
380) :- 

"i.  The  pretensions  of  the  Bible  to  a  divine  authority  or  origin  arc 
to  be  examined  by  our  reason  alone.  Its  evidences  are  addressed  to 
our  reason,  and  by  our  reasoning  powers  the  question  is  to  be  an- 
swered, "Is  the  Bible  of  Divine  or  human  origin?"  So  soon  as  reason 
has  decided  this  question,  then, 

"2.  The  truths  of  the  Bible  are  to  be  received  as  first  principles, 
not  to  be  tried  by  our  reason,  one  by  one,  but  to  be  received  as  new 
principles,  from  which  we  are  to  reason  as  from  intuitive  principles  in 
any  human  science. 

"3.  The  terms  found  in  the  Bible  are  to  be  interpreted  and  under- 
stood in  the  common  acceptation,  as  reason  or  use  suggests  their  mean- 
ing; but  the  things  taught  are  to  be  received,  not  because  we  have 
proved  them  by  our  reason  to  be  truths,  but  because  God  has  taught 
them  to  us." 

As  a  thoroughgoing  Empiricist,  Mr.  Campbell  repudiated  the  whole 
of  natural  theology  as  taught  in  the  colleges  of  his  time  (C.  B.  275). 
He  considered  this  to  be  pure  Deism.  He  was  more  consistent  with 
his  point  of  viev/  than  Locke  himself,  whom  he  criticised  for  his  rational 
proofs  of  the  existence  of  God  (C.  B.  373-5).  He  held  that  this,  with 
(5) 


05  Thb  Risk  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

all  the  other  truths  of  religion,  depends  wholly  on  revelation.  This 
brings  us  to  the  next  doctrine, 

6.  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Early  in  the  "Christian  Baptist" 
Mr.  Campbell  wrote  an  article  entitled,  ''Experimental  Religion"  (C. 
B.  48-9).  It  was  written  in  answer  to  a  charge  of  impiety  because  he 
had  criticised  the  popular  revival  methods  of  the  time  (C.  B.  39,  48). 
This  article  was  destined  to  be  a  source  of  offence  to  his  Baptist 
brethren,  greater  even  than  the  Sermon  on  the  Law.  It  was  pub- 
lished in  the  absence  of  his  father,  who  rebuked  him  on  his  return 
for  putting  out  his  views  before  his  readers  were  ready  for  them  (Life 
of  J.  Smith,  165),  and  for  making  matters  worse  (C.  B.  65).  Thomas 
Campbell  himself  wrote  a  reply,  for  the  purpose  of  alleviating  the 
difficulty  (C.  B.  65-6), 

In  the  article  Mr.  Campbell  showed  his  unusually  astute  method 
He  says   (C.  B.  48)  :— 

'The  charge  now  before  us  is  that  we  deny  'experimental  re- 
ligion.' Before  we  plead  'guilty'  or  'not  guilty'  of  this  impeachment, 
we  should  endeavor  to  understand  the  subject  matter  of  it.  Not  having 
been  in  the  use  of  the  phrase  'experimental  religion,'  I  could  neither 
affirm  nor  deny  anything  about  it.  The  question,  then,  is,  what  is  the 
thing?  The  name  we  have  not  in  our  vocabulary;  and,  therefore, 
could  only  deny  the  thing  constructively.  We  will  first  ask,  what  does 
the  Bible  say  about  it?  Upon  examination,  I  found  it  says  not  one 
word  iibout  'experimental  religion.'  The  Bible  is  as  silent  upon  this 
topic  2s  upon  the  'Romish  mass.'  I  then  appealed  to  the  'Encyclo- 
paedia.' The  only  thing  like  it,  which  I  could  find,  was  'experimental 
philosophy,'  which  is  a  philosophy  that  can  be  proved  by  experiment. 
I  then  looked  into  the  theological  dictionaries,  and  soon  found  different 
kinds  of  religion,  such  as  'natural,'  'revealed,'  etc.,  but  not  a  word  about 
'experimental.'  I  then  applied  to  a  friend,  who  had  once  been  deeply 
initiated  into  the  modern  sublimities  of  the  refined  popular  doctrine.  I 
was  then  informed  that  there  were  two  kinds  of  religion  much  talked 
of  in  the  pulpit  and  am.ongst  the  people — the  one  called  'heart  religion' 
and  the  other  'head  religion' — the  latter  dwelling  exclusively  in  the 
head  and  the  former  m  the  heart.  I  also  learned  that  the  former  was 
sometimes  called  'Christian  experience,'  and  this  was  presumed  to  be 
the  thing  intended  by  the  words  'experimental  religion.'  " 

He  then  appealed  again  to  the  New  Testament,  but  found  that  it 
was  silent  as  the  grave  on  all  these  distinctions.  He  gave  the  term 
"Christian  experience"  special  attention,  and  found  that  all  Christians 
have  considerable  experience;  some  have  more  than  others,  as  Paul 
experienced  perils  by  land  and  sea,  etc.  But  he  was  told  that  this  was 
not  the  popular  sense  of  the  term,  but  that  it  meant  the  "inward  ex- 
perience of  grace  upon  the  heart."  He  then  found  that  the  Gospel 
is  sometimes  called  the  "grace  of  God,"  and  that  when  believed  it  yields 


Work  of  the   Holy   Spirit.  67 

the  fruits  of  the  Spirit ;  and  declares  that  if  this  is  what  is  meant,  he 
never  denied  a  ^'Christian  experience."  But  again  he  is  informed  that 
this  is  not  the  populr-r  use  of  the  phrase,  but  that  it  denotes  (C.  B.  49) 
"a  certain  mental  experience  to  becoming  a  Christian,  an  exercise  of 
mind,  a  process  through  which  a  person  must  pass  before  he  can 
esteem  himself  a  true  Christian ;  and  until  we  know  from  his  recital  of 
it  that  he  has  been  the  subject  of  it,  we  cannot  esteem  him  a  Christian," 
and  concludes  (ibid  49):  "Then  it  is  some  invisible,  indescribable 
energy  exerted  upon  the  minds  of  men  in  order  to  make  them  Chris- 
tians; and  that,  toe,  independent  of,  or  prior  to,  the  word  believed." 

This  he  finds  to  be  contrary  to  Biblical  usage.  He  ridicules  the 
descriptive  preaching  of  the  times  by  which  men  were  accustomed 
to  narrate  thei«-  own  conversions,  instead  of  declaring  the  Gospel  of 
the  S<>n  of  God.  He  pronounces  this  system  to  be  mischievous.  En- 
thusiasm flourishes.  People  lay  themselves  out  for  visions  and  opera- 
tions, and  of  course  get  them  (C.  B.  218).    He  calls  away  from  it  (C. 

B.  50) :- 

''From  all  this  scene  of  raging  enthusiasm,  be  admonished,  my 
friends,  to  open  your  Bibles  and  to  hearken  to  the  voice  of  God,  which 
is  the  voice  of  reason.  God  now  speaks  to  us  only  by  his  Word.  By 
His  Son,  in  the  New  Testament,  he  has  fully  revealed  Himself  and  His 
Will.    This  is  the  only  revelation  of  his  Spirit  which  we  are  to  regard." 

Mr.  Campbell  thus  showed  an  unexpected  hostility  to  the  whole 
Eighteenth  Century  conception  of  conversion  and  to  the  whole  Ameri- 
can system  of  revivals  from  Jonathan  Edwards  down  (C.  B.  404; 
Harb  35,  355;  Harb.  30,  454,  568).  This  antipathy  could  not  do 
anything  else  than  bring  him  into  conflict.  It  was  made  accordingly 
the  shibboleth  of  the  war  on  him  by  his  Baptist  brethren  (C.  B.  267; 
Harb.  30,  133-4;  Harb.  31,  78,  81).  But  Mr.  Campbell  felt  the  issue 
to  be  worth  while,  and  that  he  could  not  restore  the  primitive  faith 
until  certain  misconceptions  were  cleared  away.  He  was  sure  he  knew 
what  he  was  talking  about.    He  says  (C.  B.  219)  : — 

"T  well  remember  what  pains  and  conflicts  I  endured  under  a 
fearful  apprehension  that  my  convictions  and  my  sorrows  for  sin  were 
not  deep  enough.  A  even  envied  Newton  of  his  long  agony.  I  even 
envied  Bunyan  of  his  despair.  I  could  have  wished,  and  did  wish, 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  would  brmg  me  down  to  the  very  verge  of  suf- 
fering the  pains  of  the  damned,  that  I  might  be  raised  to  share  the  joys 
of  the  genuine  converts.  I  feared  that  I  had  not  sufficiently  found  the 
depiavity  of  my  heart,  and  had  not  vet  proved  that  I  was  utterly  with- 
out strength.  Sometimes  I  thourrht  that  I  felt  as  sensibly,  as  the 
ground  under  my  feet,  that  I  had  gone  just  as  far  as  human  nature 


g8  I^HE  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

could  go  without  supernatural  aid,  and  that  one  step  more  would  place 
me  safe  among  the  regenerated  of  the  Lord ;  and  yet  Heaven  refused 
its  aid.  This,  too,  1  concealed  from  all  the  living.  I  found  no  com- 
fort in  all  the  declarations  of  the  Gospel,  because  I  wanted  one  thing 
to  enable  me  to  appropriate  them  to  myself.  Lacking  this,  I  could 
only  envy  the  happy  favorites  of  heaven  who  enjoyed  it,  and  all  my 
refuge  was  in  a  faint  hope  that  I  one  day  might  receive  that  aid  which 
■would  place  my  feet  upon  the  rock." 

He  felt  that  the  true  seeking  after  God  must  be  less  introspective 
and  more  prospective;  that  it  must  look  to  Jesus  Christ  through  the 
testimony  about  him. 

Mr.  Campbell's  task  was  like  that  of  Locke  in  his  polemic  against 
innate  ideas.  He  said:  "There  are  no  such  things  as  subjective  and 
mystic  mfluences  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;"  to  put  it  in  a  modern  term,  "Your 
visions,  frames  and  feelings  are  mere  'psychological  illusions'." 
"In  conversion  and  sanctification  the  Holy  Spirit  operates  only 
through  the  Word  of  Truth"  (Chr.  Bap'm  291).  This  was  merely  a 
consistent  application  of  the  Empirical  Philosophy.  It  is  all  antici- 
pated in  the  next  to  the  final  chapter  of  Locke's  Essay,  viz :  "Of  Enthu- 
siasm" (Book  I\',  Chap.  19).  Mr.  Campbell  gave  for  it  his  usual 
argument  from  the  constitution  of  the  human  mind  (Chr.  Bap'm  291). 
Accordingly,  Mr.  Campbell  followed  his  attack  on  "mystic  influences" 
(C.  B.  64)  witli  a  constructive  treatise  on  the  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  salvation  of  men  (C.  B.  82,  89,  95,  loi,  108,  117,  124,  131,  137). 
In  this  splendid  series  of  articles  he  left  aside  the  metaphysical  ques^ 
tion  of  the  nature  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  confined  himself  wholly  to 
its  operations  in  the  process  of  the  world's  redemption.  This  opera- 
tion he  considered  to  be  threefold :  ( i )  As  Spirit  of  Wisdom,  by  which 
the  Apostles  were  qualified  to  deliver  a  correct,  intelligible  and  con- 
sistent testimony  of  divine  truth ;  (2)  As  Spirit  of  Power,  by  which 
this  testimony  was  confirmed  by  miracles  and  prophecy  (C.  B.  Ill)  ;  (3) 
As  Spirit  of  Grace,  or  Goodness,  which  (when  the  gospel  of  the  Grace 
of  God  is  received)  works  in  the  hearts  of  them  that  believe  and 
teaches  them  to  deny  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  to  live  soberly, 
righteously  and  godly  in  this  present  evil  world,  and  to  continue  in 
the  grace  of  God  while  they  abound  in  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  (C.  B. 
139).  Thus  the  Word  and  the  Spirit  always  act  inseparably.  No 
new  faculties  are  g'lven  in  the  process  of  salvation,  but  only  new  ob- 
jects are  presented  to  the  faculties  already  existing,  which  "captivate 
the  affections  and  passions  of  the  human  soul ;  and,  consequently,  direct 
or  draw  the  whole  man  into  new  aims,  pursuits  and  endeavors"  (C.  B. 
131).     (So  Chr.  Bap'm  291). 


Work  oi^  the  Holy  Spirit.  69 

This  interesting  doctrine  may  appear  to  many  to  be  one-sided.  It  has, 
without  doubt,  been  carried  to  an  extreme  by  some  of  Mr.  Campbell's 
followers,  especially  those  who  came  in  from  previous  Deistic  or  Ra- 
tionalistic convictions  (Rich.  Mem.  II,  355-6).  It  has  been  the  chief 
work  of  Thomas  Campbell,  Robert  Richardson  and  J.  H.  Garrison  to 
combat  this  tendency  among  the  Disciples  of  Christ.  In  judging  it, 
we  must  always  remember  its  antithesis  and  historical  purpose.  This  is 
stated  in  one  of  those  splendid  reviews  of  his  career  by  Mr.  Campbell 
himself  (Harb.  ^y,  198)  : — 

"We  much  regret  the  necessity  that  constrained  us  to  hazard  so 
much  on  a  point  so  vital,  but  the  case  was  this:  We  saw  two  great 
errors,  as  we  supposed,  existing  in  society  on  this  subject.  We  still  re- 
gard them  as  desolating  evils.  The  idea  of  physical  or  special  interpo- 
sitions of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  way  of  dreams,  visions,  voices  and 
immediate  impulses,  issuing  in  swoonings,  faintings,  jerkings,  shout- 
ings, trances,  etc.,  etc. ;  in  all  the  enthusiasm,  if  not  fanaticism,  of 
camp -meetings;  in  all  the  ecstacies  of  ancient  Quakerism  or  modern 
shaking  and  quaking  Quakerism,  in  whatever  party  it  was  found,  vv^e 
could  not  but  oppose  and  repudiate  by  all  the  means  in  our  power. 
Another  extreme  in  metaphysical  theology,  though  less  boisterous,  noisy 
and  contagious,  though  equally  pernicious  to  the  subject,  was  that  a 
sinner  is  so  dead  and  buried  in  his  sin  that,  even  after  he  has  heard  the 
voice  of  God,  speaking  by  Apostles  and  Prophets,  he  must  wait  still 
for  the  Spirit  to  descend  and  work  faith  in  his  heart  by  a  supernatural 
process  before  he  attempt  even  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
Hence,  the  essays,  sermons  and  controversies  upon  the  metaphysical 
regeneration  of  an  unbeliever  in  order  to  faith. 

"We  have  opposed  these  theories  because  they  are  not  found 
in  the  scriptures,  and  because  we  have  seen  and  known  them  to  be  most 
injurious  to  multitudes.  But  as  for  doubting  or  denying  either  the 
personality  of  God's  Hol>  Spirit,  or  his  convicting  the  world  of  sin, 
righteousness  and  judgment,  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  testimony 
concerning  Christ,  or  his  dwelling  in  the  hearts  of  the  faithful  as  a 
comforter,  we  have  given  the  world  no  evidence — unless  the  opposing 
of  the  abuses  of  any  doctrine  is  to  be  identified  with  opposing  the 
doctrine  itself." 

Tims  the  influences  of  the  Lockean  philosophy  on  the  Current 
Reformation  are  evident: — 

I.  It  gave  to  Air.  Campbell  and  his  friends  a  point  of  view  and 
method  of  interpretation  which  were  their  chief  means  of  success.  This 
was  the  philosophy  of  common-sense.     On  its  principles  all  scientific 


70  The  Riss:  o^  the  Current  Reeormation. 

work  had  been  done  ?ince  the  time  of  Newton.  It  had  percolated 
down  to  the  lowest  strata  of  the  British  and  American  mind.  Mr. 
Campbell  came  to  the  common  man  with  a  message  which  was  intel- 
ligible to  him.  It  had  none  of  the  abstractness  and  mystery  of  the 
speculative  systems.  Locke,  Campbell  and  the  average  man,  alike, 
hated  metaphysics.  In  the  call  to  a  few  simple  propositions,  in  taking 
Christianity  on  its  historic  evidences,  in  reducing  Christian  duty  to 
specific  and  definite  actions,  within  and  without,  all  had  a  common  un- 
derstanding, and  felt  great  satisfaction  in  what  they  held  to  be  a  su- 
perior knowledge.  Armed  with  his  Bible  and  the  Essay  on  the  Human 
Understanding,  the  frontier  evangelist  feared  no  antagonist.  Thus 
they  made  Christian  experience  to  be  rather  an  intellectual  than  an 
emotional  process.  Faith  is  the  belief  of  a  proposition.  It  is  the  ac- 
ceptance of  testimony.  It  can  never  stand  alone,  but  the  ordo  salutis 
is  facts,  testimony,  faith,  repentance,  baptism,  remission  of  sins  and  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  intellectual  element  has  the  primacy. 
Herein  lies  the  danger  of  rationalism,  which  has  often  preyed 
upon  the  thinking  of  representative  members  of  the  Disciples.  We 
must  remember  tl sat  lyocke,  too,  was  the  father  of  English  Deism ;  that 
there  are  dangers  in  too  closely  binding  reason  and  religion,  even  by 
the  link  of  revelation.  Let  us  take  the  suggestion  of  Kant,  Locke's 
successor,  that  the  mind  is  active  in  knowing ;  that  there  is  a  moral  ele- 
ment in  faith ;  that  ''if  any  man  willeth  to  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of 
the  doctrine;"  and  thereby  be  sure  that  we  avoid  every  reproach  of 
bald  intellectual  ism  and  mere  externalism. 

II.  Here  lies  patent  also  the  conflict  between  Mr.  Campbell  and 
his  theological  predecessors.  His  thinking  was  based  on  modern  phi- 
losophy; their  fundamental  propositions  were  from  mediaeval  systems, 
especially  the  Liberum  Arbitrium  of  Duns  Scotus,  through  Calvin.  He 
held  that  God  was  willing ;  that  no  time  or  effort  should  be  given  to  in- 
duce him  to  give  faith :  that  we  need  only  use  the  means  already  given, 
open  cur  minds  and  receive  the  truth  and  grace  at  hand.  There  was 
an  unmistakable  clashing  of  methods.  There  is  no  man  living  to-day 
but  must  admit  that  Mr.  Campbell  had  the  better  oi  the  two  points  of 
view.  We  all  rejoice  in  the  triumphs  of  science  and  philosophy  in  the 
Nineteenth  Century,  by  which  the  mysticism  of  the  old  Calvinism,  and 
Arminianism  as  weL  has  gone  in  every  quarter,  and  that  we  are  left 
free  to  a  simpler  and  more  historical  understanding  of  the  ineffable 
truths  of  our  sacred  religion. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
The    Precursors. 

The  background  of  the  Current  Reformation  is  to  be  found  in  the 
history  of  the  Church  in  Scotland.  On  Scottish  soil  the  earliest  churches 
appeared,  and  from  Scotch  parentage  and  training  the  Campbells  came. 
The  m.ovement  found  its  prototypes  in  the  Scottish  Sects  which  went 
before  it.  Let  us  trace  in  brief  the  rise  of  these  sects,  and  determine 
the  nature  and  extent  of  their  contribution  to  the  Current  Reformation. 
The     Reformation. 

The  Reformation  in  Scotland  was  not  indigenous  to  the  soil,  but 
was  imported  from  the  Continent.  Thus  it  came  late,  and  showed  at 
the  beginning  ctie  marks  of  a  thoroughly  developed  Protestantism.  Due 
to  the  friendly  relations  of  the  Scotch  people  with  the  French  and  their 
common  hostility  to  the  English,  it  was  natural  that  it  should  come  in 
from  the  Reformation  in  France.  Accordingly,  Patrick  Hamilton,  a 
student  in  the  University  of  Paris,  accepted  the  doctrines  of  Luther, 
and,  returning  home,  was  martyred  in  1528.  He  was  followed  by 
George  Wishart  (1546);  in  whose  retinue  John  Knox,  an  ex-priest, 
first  appears.  Emboldened  by  the  example  of  his  friend,  he  taught 
openly^  the  Reformed  doctrines;  until,  captured  in  the  Siege  of  St. 
Andrev/s  (1547),  he  was  carried  off  to  France,  where  he  served  as  a 
galley  slave.  Having  been  released,  he  went  to  England,  where  he 
labored  in  the  Protestant  cause  under  Edward  VL  At  the  accession 
of  Bloody  Ma^y,  he  fled  to  the  Continent,  where  he  spent  some  time 
in  study  under  Calvin  and  Beza  at  Geneva.  At  the  accession  of  Eliza- 
beth, he  returned  to  Scotland  and  set  about  the  work  of  reformation 
in  earnest.  His  supporters  met  at  Edinburgh  (1557)  and  took  the  old 
feudal  oath  of  man-rent  *'to  maintain,  set  forward  and  establish  the 
most  blessed  Word  of  God  and  His  congregation."  This  was  the  first 
of  the  Covenants,  from  which  the  reforming  party  were  called  the 
"Congregation"  and  "Covenanters."  The  movement  v/as  really  a  re- 
bellion against  the  regime  of  the  Queen-regent,  and  had  gathered  such 
strength  by  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  I^/Iary  Stuart  from  France  that 
she  was  compelled  to  make  concessions  to  it.  Under  the  dominance  of 
Knox,  the  Scottish  Parliament  voted  to  abolish  Popery  (1560).    Knox 

71 


72  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reformation. 

and  his  associates  prepared  a  Confession  of  Faith,  which  was  estab- 
lished as  the  religic  n  of  the  realm ;  and  the  Congregation  entered  into 
the  place  of  the  Romish  system  as  the  State  Church.  Thus  the  Scot- 
tish Reformation  was  carried  out  on  the  most  radical  lines  of  Protest- 
antism. It  stood  for  purity  in  worship  and  morals.  It  was  marked  by 
the  most  bitter  iconoclasm  of  all  relics  of  the  Roman  order.  Calvin's 
ideas  were  carried  out  explicitly.  A  thoroughgoing  Presbyterianism 
became  dominant.  Thus  the  creed  and  the  polity  existed  before  the 
church,  and  the  key  is  given  to  the  understanding  of  all  later  move- 
ments. 

The  Established  Church. 
But  this  church  was  compelled  to  undergo  one  more  crisis  before 
it  was  finally  confi-med  to  its  birthright.  The  Stuarts,  James  and 
Charles,  were  not  f^-iendly  to  the  Presbyterian  order,  but  were  com- 
pelled to  yield  for  a  time.  Finally,  Charles  I  and  Archbishop  Laud  in- 
sanely undertook  to  force  the  English  Liturgy  upon  the  Scotch  people. 
This  was  bitterly  resented.  All  eyes  were  turned  to  the  Cathedral  of 
St.  Giles,  where  the  tes^  of  the  King's  mandate  was  to  be  made.  While 
the  Dean  of  Edinburgh  was  going  through  the  service  there,  before  a 
vast  concourse  of  people,  a  poor  old  woman  threw  her  stool  at  his 
head,  crying  ''Villain!  Dost  thou  say  Mass  at  my  lug?"  A  riot  ensued 
as  the  unpremeditated  outburst  of  popular  indignation.  On  February 
2S,  1638,  a  great  meetmg  of  the  nation  was  called.  The  Covenant  was 
brought  forth.  This  time  the  uprising  was  directed  against  Prelacy, 
which  was  considered  as  Popery  in  a  new  form.  Over  sixty  thousand 
people  signed  the  parchment.  Many  opened  their  veins  and  signed 
with  blood.  Some  added  the  words  "till  death."  Copies  were  made  and 
carried  throughout  the  kingdom.  A  new  period  of  iconoclasm  broke 
out.  Mass-meciings  were  held  everywhere.  The  Scottish  people  seemed 
to  stand  as  one  man  in  revolt  against  their  King.  In  the  Parliamentary 
War,  which  followed,  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  was  proclaimed 
throughout  Great  Britain.  It  became  the  shibboleth  of  the  Puritans, 
who  were  often  called  "Covenanters."  The  Scottish  commissioners 
dominated  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  English  divines  (1646),  and 
secured  the  adoption  of  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith.  This  was 
accepted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Scotland  as  the  successor  of  the 
old  creed  of  Knox.  It  was  the  creed  of  the  United  Kingdom  until  the 
Restoration  (1660).  At  the  religious  settlement  after  the  Revolution  of 
1688,  under  William  of  Orange,  it  was  confirmed  as  the  creed  of  the 
Established  Church  of  Scotland.  This  elaborate  document  taught  a 
fairly  consistent  Calvinism.    It  was  upheld  by  a  rigid  Presbyterian  order 


The  EstabIvIShkd  Church.  73 

of  discipline,  to  which  absolute  conformity  was  demanded  in  faith  and 

practice. 

These  two  make  the  distinctive  traits  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 

(i)     The  authority  of  the  creed. 

In  England  great  variety  of  belief  and  opinion  had  always 
been  permitted.  Calvinists,  Arminians,  Covenant  theologi- 
ans, stood  side  by  side.  The  real  bond  of  union  has  al- 
ways been  the  Prayer  Book  and  not  the  Thirty-nine  Arti- 
cles. In  Scotland,  however,  the  Confession  of  Faith  was 
first  in  time,  central  in  the  propaganda,  and  always  re- 
mained as  the  test  of  fellowship. 

(2)     The  theocracy — a  jure  divino  Presbyterianism — 

This  was  a  union  of  church  and  state  in  which  the  church 
became  the  uppermost  factor.  The  seat  of  power  de- 
scended from  General  Assembly,  Synod,  Presbytery,  Ses- 
sion, down  to  the  congregation.  It  was  an  oligarchy — a 
government  by  old  and  prominent  men,  whose  authority 
was  upheld  by  a  High  Commission,  when  the  General  As- 
sembly was  not  in  session. 
The  Scottish  sects  in  which  lies  our  direct  interest  were  the  results 
of  a  series  of  revolts  against  the  tyrannies  of  this  Established  Church. 

The     Scottish     Sects. 

The  first  of  these  sects  was  the  Cameronian  Covenanters,  who  re- 
pudiated the  religious  settlement  of  William  III  as  a  compromise 
with  the  State.  Led  by  Rev.  John  Macmillan,  they  met  in  171 2,  and 
renewed  the  "Covenants,"  with  such  additions  as  expressed  the  pro- 
tests of  their  own  time  and  circumstances.  Thus  they  organized  them- 
selves into  separate  societies.  They  were  the  ultra — jure  divino — or 
Reformed  Presbyterians;  but  rapidly  declined  and  had  no  influence 
on  our  history.  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  52,  Heatherington,  History  of 
Church  of  Scotland,  355). 

The     Seceders. 

The  religious  settlement  of  1690  had  within  itself  the  seeds  of  new 
troubles.  It  was  made  easy  for  the  prelatic  curates  of  the  preceding 
period  to  retain  their  parishes  merely  by  conforming  to  the  Presby- 
terian order.  Weary  of  the  long  period  of  religious  dissension,  the 
best  spirits  of  the  age  were  resolved  to  make  every  concession  to  the 
State  necessary  for  peace  and  prosperity.  The  Patronage  Act,  annulled 
in  the  Revolutions  (1649,  1690),  was  restored  in  171 1.  By  this  act 
and  ancient  custom,  the  lord  of  the  manor,  or  other  patrons  who  car- 


74  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reformation. 

ried  the  greater  part  of  the  maintenance  of  the  parish,  had  the  right 
to  present  ministers  to  vacant  churches.     Upon  this  presentation,  the 
congregation  had  the  right  to  reject  or  accept.     But  any  congrega- 
tion rejecting  the  nominee  of  its  patron  had  to  await  a  second  appoint- 
ment; while  often  the  offending  parish  w^as  left  vacant  for  years,  and 
the  fees  withheld  to  the  profit  of  the  patron.     By  use  of  this  power 
in  the  seating  of  their  favorites  in  the  chief  places  of  influence,  the 
secular  aristocracy  was  gradually  obtaining  control  of  the  Established 
Church.     Such  a  danger  was  sure  to  be  scented  in  the  church  of  Knox 
and  Melville.     Two  parties  began  to   form, — the  Moderates  and  the 
Evangelicals.     The  former  winked  at  the  popular  tendency,  magnified 
scholarship  and  preached  the  ethical  side  of  Christianity.     The  latter 
magnified  faith  and  regeneration.    The  lines  w^ere  drawn  in  the  Marrow 
Controversy  (see  p.  43)  ;  which,  while  it  subsided,  left  Ebenezer  Ers- 
kine  marked  as  the  champion  of  the  Evangelical  party.     He  now  took 
up  the  rights  of  the  common  people  in  the  patronage  contests.     In 
1732  he  preached  a  sermon  against  the  General  Assembly,  under  control 
of  the  Moderates.    As  a  true  Scotchman,  his  language  was  not  equiv- 
ocal.   Called  before  the  Assembly,  he  was  voted  a  rebuke  for  his  con- 
duct.    Erskine  protested  in  the  name  of  his  rights  as  a  minister  and 
of  the  constitutional  liberties  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.     Three  other 
ministers   joined   in   the   protest.     They   were   suspended   from   their 
charges.    But,  being  backed  by  their  parishes,  they  continued  to  preach 
regardless  of  the  action  of  the  Assembly,  and  formed  themselves  into  the 
Associate  Presbytery,  1733;  and  issued  their  "Testimony"  setting  forth 
their  loyalty  to  the  Covenants  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  stating 
the  grounds  of  their  secession.     When  too  late,  the  Church  saw  its 
mistake  and  rescinded  its  harsh  measures;  but  the  schism  had  gone 
too  far,   and  Erskine  and  his   friends  would  not  return  to  the   fold. 
Other  prominent  m.inisters  joined  their  ranks.    The  masses  were  deeply 
in  sympathy  with  the  Seceders,  whom  they  regarded  as  martyrs  for 
the  truth.    The  division  shook  the  church  from  center  to  circumference. 
All  Anti-Presbyterian  elements  were  led  out  during  the  shock.     The 
new  movement  was  democratic  in  tendency.     It  sought  to  maintain 
the  doctrine  and  polity  of  the  early  Reformed  Church,  which  its  leaders 
felt  to  be  slipping  away.     The  Seceders  became  the  tenacious  adher- 
ents of  the  Westminster  Confession.     A  second  secession  occurred  in 
1761,  led  by  Thomas  Gillespie  and  Thomas  Boston  (son  of  the  theolo- 
gian), who  formed  themselves  into  the  Presbytery  of  Relief. 

The  Associate  Presbytery  grew  rapidly  until  dissension  arose  over 
the  burgess  oath,  which  ^ed  to  a  schism  in  1747.    Every  magistrate  in 


The  Seceders.  75 

Scotland  was  required  to  obligate  himself  to  support  "the  true  religion 
presently  professed  within  this  realm."  The  strict  interpreters  held 
that  this  meant  the  Established  Church,  against  which  they  were  in 
rebellion,  and  hence  they  could  not  take  the  oath.  Others  said  that 
it  meant  simply  evangelical  Christianity,  and  that  they  were  at  liberty 
to  do  as  they  pleased  in  the  matter.  Hence,  two  sects  were  formed, 
called  the  Anti-Burghers  and  Burghers.  A  like  question  arose  in 
1795, — "the  power  of  civil  magistrates  in  religion."  In  some  places, 
each  sect  broke  into  "Old  Lights"  and  "New  Lights," — as  they  were 
called.  Other  schisms  occurred  also.  This  history  is  of  special  interest 
to  us,  as  showing  the  divisive  tendency  of  the  Scotch  Sects.  It  fur- 
nished the  antithesis  to  the  Current  Reformation 

Thomas  Campbell  was  a  Seceder  minister  of  the  north  of  Ireland, 
and  attained  to  the  principle  of  "Christian  Union"  out  of  bitter  experi- 
ences in  trying  to  heal  the  divisions  of  the  church  of  his  choice.  Alex- 
ander Campbell  was  brought  up  in  this  atmosphere,  and  may  have 
received  its  good ;  as  his  father  had  revolted  against  its  evil,  viz :  the 
hostility  to  an  established  church, — whether  Presbyterian,  Anglican  or 
Roman  Catholic.  He  was  reared  a  reactionist  against  human  authority 
in  religion.    His  history  shows  a  deepening  of  these  convictions. 

The     Scotch     Independents 
The  Scotch   Independents  represent  three  different  parties.     All 
follow  more  or  less  the  example  of  the  English  Independents,  but  are 
historically  distinct  from  them. 

(i)  The  Old  Independents  originated  with  John  Glas,  minister  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland  at  Tealing,  who  became  dissatisfied  with  the 
"Union  of  Church  and  State,"  and  preached  against  the  Covenants. 
In  1727  he  published  his  chief  work, — "Testimony  of  the  King  of 
Martyrs."  He  distinguished  between  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
in  the  former  of  which  he  held  the  state  and  the  church  to  be  identical ; 
but  in  the  latter,  the  church  is  a  purely  spiritual  community.  Any 
connection  with  a  kingdom  of  the  world  he  declared  to  be  unapostolic 
and  sinful  (C.  B.  229).  For  his  Independent  views,  he  was  deposed 
by  the  General  Assembly,  and  formed  the  first  "Glassite"  congregation 
at  Dundee  (1728).  The  aim  of  this  body  was  "to  restore  the  primi- 
tive New  Testament  practices."  They  interpreted  the  Scriptures  lit- 
erally, and  differed  from  others  in  the  observance  of  the  weekly  "Lord's 
Supper,"  love- feasts,  kiss  of  charity,  feet-washing,  the  fellowship  (a 
weekly  collection  for  the  poor),  mutual  exhortations,  plurality  of  elders, 
community  of  goods  (under  limitations),  public  amusements,  etc.  They 
were  strict  disciplinarians,  and  separated  themselves  from  all  who  did 


76  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reformation. 

not  observe  a  simple  worship  like  themselves.  Unanimity  was  required 
in  every  action  of  the  congregation. 

The  work  of  Glas  was  taken  up  by  Robert  Sandeman  (his  son-in- 
law),  after  whom  the  sect  was  called,  outside  of  Scotland,  Sande- 
manians.  Sandeman  gave  the  movement  its  theological  content.  He 
was  a  stiff  upholder  of  Justification  by  Faith.  He  limited  faith  largely 
to  its  intellectual  element, — "the  bare  belief  of  the  bare  truth"  con- 
cerning the  person  and  work  of  Christ.  It  is  the  same  as  the  belief 
of  any  proposition. 

These  old  Independents  v/ere  narrow  and  divisive;  acrimonious 
in  their  criticism  of  others;  never  became  a  large  body,  and  were  the 
victims  of  bitter  reproach  from  all  quarters. 

(2)  The  Scotch  Baptists 
originated  in  Edinburgh  in  1767,  when  a  small  body  withdrew  from 
the  Established  Church  tmder  the  leadership  of  Archibald  McLean. 
They  had  no  connection  with  the  English  Baptists.  They  grew  to 
some  one  hundred  churches  in  half  a  century,  and  spread  into  Eng- 
land and  Ireland.  They  adopted  the  practices  of  Glas, — weekly  com- 
munion, mutual  exhortation,  plurality  of  elders,  etc.,  —from  whom  they 
differed  mainly  in  the  practice  of  immersion  (Harb.  35,  297).  They 
are  best  known  through  William  Jones,  pi  London,  author  of  the  His- 
tory of  the  Waldenses,  who  took  up  Mr.  Campbell's  writings  and 
published  them  for  a  time  in  the  British  Millennial  Harbinger  (Harb. 
35,  295). 

(3)  The  New  Independents 
were  an  outgrowth  of  the  evangelical  revivals  represented  in  England 
by  Wesley  and  Whitefield,  and  of  the  missionary  movement  headed 
by  Carey  and  J^uller.  They  found  leadership  in  Robert  and  James  A. 
Haldane,  two  wealthy  seamen  of  noble  birth,  who,  being  deeply  im- 
pressed by  religion,  abandoned  their  calling  and  undertook  various 
philanthropic  enterprises.  First,  Robert  Haldane  fitted  out  a  mis- 
sionary expedition  to  India,  taking  Greville  Ewing  with  him ;  but,  due 
to  the  refusal  of  admission  by  the  East  India  Company,  the  project 
was  given  up  (1795).  Meanwhile,  James  A.  Haldane,  impressed  by 
the  objection  of  the  opponents  of  missions  that  there  were  plenty 
of  heathen  at  home,  set  out  on  a  tour  of  Scotland  with  a  Mr.  Simeon, 
in  which  they  distributed  tracts,  organized  Sunday-schools  and 
preached  in  the  open  air.  The  preachers  were  heard  with  great  in- 
terest by  the  masses,  and  were  free  in  their  attacks  upon  the  apparent 
indifference  of  the  churches  to  the  needs  of  the  people.     Robert  Hal- 


The   New    Independents.  77 

dane  built  a  number  of  tabernacles  in  leading  cities,  where  the  Gospel 
could  be  given  to  those  who  desired  it.  Rowland  Hill,  the  English 
divine,  was  invited  to  the  Circus  at  Edinburgh;  but  his  manner  of- 
fended many  staid  Presbyterians.  The  General  Assembly  now  isued 
a  Circular  Letter,  in  which  lay  preaching  was  condemned  and  the 
Established  Churches  were  closed  to  those  of  other  communions.  The 
Seceders  did  likewise.  Robert  Haldane  retorted  by  organizing  the 
Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel,  and  established  a  series  of  semi- 
naries, in  which  young  men  were  educated  for  the  ministry  at  Ins  ex- 
pense. These  societies,  like  those  of  Wesley,  were  not  intended  to  de- 
tract from  the  Established  Church,  with  which  the  Haldanes  remained 
in  good  fellowship.  But  antagonisms  necessarily  increased,  so  that  the 
Circus  congregation  became  an  Independent  church.  James  A.  Hal- 
dane was  ordained  as  pastor,  and  similar  organizations  were  made 
in  other  cities.  The  movement  had  been  practical  and  evangelistic.  It 
aimed  merely  to  preach  the  Gospel,  without  regard  to  forms  of  ex- 
ternal arrangement  or  church  order.  But  now  questions  of  polity  were 
unavoidable,  and  Greville  Ewing,  influenced  by  Glas  and  McLean,  led 
the  way  to  a  Congregational  order.  Their  aim  was  to  approximate  the 
ideal  model  of  primitive  Christianity.  Accordingly,  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, observed  only  twice  a  year  in  the  Established  Church,  was  intro- 
duced as  a  weekly  institution.  A  mid-week  meeting  was  held,  at  which 
the  members  exhorted  orie  another.  This  custom  was  extended  to  the 
Lord's  Day,  from  which  dissension  began  to  arise.  A  plurality  of 
elders  was  held  to  be  imperative,  and  Robert  Haldane  took  his  place 
beside  his  brother.  The  final  conflict  came  when  James  A.  Haldane 
announced  to  his  congregation  that  he  could  no  longer  conscientiously 
administer  infant  baptism,  and  in  1805  was  immersed.  He  stated  at  the 
time  that  he  did  not  intend  to  join  the  Baptists,  and  that  in  the  church 
the  practice  should  be  a  matter  of  forbearance;  and  that  Baptists  and 
Paedo-Baptists  might  have  fellowship  with  one  another.  But  the  an- 
tagonism of  the  Christian  world  on  the  subject  was  too  bitter  to  allow 
the  Haldanean  community  to  escape  rupture.  A  division  occurred. 
Two  hundred  members  followed  the  example  of  their  pastors.  Others 
left  the  church,  some  going  to  that  of  Mr.  Aikman  in  the  city,  some 
back  to  the  Established  Church.  The  division  spread  throughout  all 
the  tabernacle  congregations.  Greville  Ewing  became  the  leader  of 
the  Paedo-baptist  faction.  From  this  time,  the  influence  of  these  New 
Independents  or  Haldaneans  began  to  wane,  and  they  were  for  the 
most  part  gradually  absorbed  into  other  parties. 


78  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reeormawon. 

The  influence  of  these  Scotch  Independents  on  the  Current  Refor- 
mation is  patent  to  every  observer. 

They  furnished  excitement  and  agitation  to  the  stolid  life  of  Scot- 
tish religion,  in  the  very  period  in  which  Thomas  Campbell  was  at- 
tempting to  work  in  Ireland  and  Alexander  Campbell  was  brought  up. 
They  were  the  subjects  of  discussion,  pro  and  con,  and  must  have  been 
known  to  every  intelligent  reader  of  the  times  (Harb.  35,  305).  They 
had  an  Independent  congregation  at  Rich  Hill,  v/hich  Thomas  Camp- 
bell and  his  son  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  60).  They 
touched  the  Camipbells  personally  through  two  of  their  most  attractive 
characters,  viz:  John  Walker  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  60-1,  172;  Harb.  35, 
299),  and  Greville  Ewing  (Rich.  Mem.  1,  175-7).  They  gave  the  model 
of  the  society  according  to  which  Thomas  Campbell  first  organized  his 
friends  in  the  Christian  Association ;  and  later,  of  the  form  of  church 
government  adopted  by  Alexander  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  466).  They 
originated  the  principle  of  the  Restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity 
(Harb.  35,  302),  which  they  carried  out  wdth  a  crass  literalism, 
and  set  the  points  for  the  application  of  the  same  for  all  who 
followed. 

The  agreement  of  Mr.  Campbell's  "Ancient  Order  of  Things"  with 
the  tenets  and  practices  of  these  Independents  was  so  marked  that  the 
charge  of  identity  was  often  laid  at  his  door.  For  instance,  R.  B. 
Semple,  leader  of  the  Baptists  in  Virginia,  wrote  to  Mr.  Campbell  in 
1825:  "So  far  as  I  can  judge  by  your  writings  and  preaching,  you 
are  substantially  a  Sandemanian  or  Haldanean"  (C.  B.  227;  so  C.  B. 
398,  432).  To  this  Mr.  Campbell  replied  directly  in  a  splendid  dis- 
cussion of  the  whole  question  (C.  B.  228-9).  He  affirms  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  work  and  writings  of  Glas,  Sandeman,  McLean,  the 
Haldanes  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  422-5)  ;  and  while  he  acknowledges  a  debt 
to  them,  he  asserts  the  same  of  Luther,  Calvin  and  Wesley,  and  says : 
"I  candidly  and  unequivocally  avow  that  I  do  not  believe  that  any  one 
of  them  had  clear  and  consistent  views  of  the  Christian  religion  as  a 
whole/'  (C.  B.  229).  That  debt  was  mainly  a  negative  one.  He  says: 
"I  am  indebted  upon  the  whole  as  much  to  their  errors  as  to  their  vir- 
tues ;  for  these  have  been  to  me  as  beacons  to  the  mariner,  who  might 
otherwise  have  run  upon  the  rocks  and  shoals."  He  denies  interest 
in  these  men  at  the  constructive  period  of  life :  "For  the  last  ten  years 
I  have  not  looked  into  the  works  of  any  of  these  men,  and  have  lost 
the  taste  I  once  had  for  controversial  reading  of  this  sort."  He  then 
states  his  real  sources:  "And  durmg  this  period  my  inquiries  into 
the  Christian  religion  have  been   almost  exclusively  confined  to  the 


The  New   Independents.  79 

Holy  Scriptures/'  (C.  B.  229).  On  this  basis,  he  claims  complete 
independence  (C.  B.  229,  399,  445,  614-5).  A  like  charge  was  made 
by  William  Jones  (1835),  the  leading  Scotch  Baptist  of  his  time,  who 
reproaches  Mr.  Campbell  with  ingratitude  toward  A.  McLean,  the 
founder  of  that  sect.  (Harb.  35,  295-302).  Mr.  Campbell  again  re- 
plied with  a  very  interesting  dissertation  on  the  factors  of  his  educa- 
tion (Harb.  35,  302-7).  He  assigned  the  initiative  of  the  movement 
to  John  Glas,  1728.  He  owns  the  whole  as  an  historical  influence  of  his 
Scotch  heritage,  but  maintains  again  his  independence  on  the  basis  of 
the  "Bible  alone."  (Harb.  35,  305).  Taking  this  stand,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  criticise  the  Scotch  Independents  freely  (C.  B.  450),  for 
carrying  the  principle  of  Apostolic  precedent  too  far.  He  thus  re- 
jected feet-washing,  the  holy  kiss,  a  set  order  of  service,  etc.  At  the 
same  time  he  felt  a  closer  affinity  to  the  Scotch  Baptists  and  Haldaneans 
than  with  other  parties.  He  thanks  them  for  the  gift  of  Walter  Scott 
to  his  cause  (Harb.  35,  298).  He  was  always  willing  to  recognize  them 
as  brethren,  where  the  relation  was  reciprocated.  The  likeness  of 
views  and  practices  was  due  to  similarity  of  experiences  in  an  inde- 
pendent use  of  the  Scriptures.  The  relation  came  too  early  to  affect 
greatly  his  final  thinking.  Its  effects  were  negative.  The  Scotch  In- 
dependents aided  him  in  breaking  from  the  religion  of  his  youth 
(Rich.  Mem.  I,  189).  As  he  says:  "My  faith  in  creeds  and  confes- 
sions of  human  device  was  considerably  shaken  while  in  Scotland;  and 
I  commenced  my  career  in  this  country  under  the  conviction  that 
nothing  that  was  not  as  old  as  the  New  Testament  should  be  an 
article  of  faith,  a  rule  of  practice  or  a  term  of  communion  among 
Christians."  We  have  no  reason  to  deny  a  practically  new  product  on 
the  free  soil  of  America. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Th^    Ris^. 

I. 

The  leaders  of  the  movements  In  our  preceding  chapters  were  the 
"reformers  before  the  reformation/'  as  Ulmann  calls  the  predecessors 
of  Luther.  They  gave  spring  and  impulse,  warning  and  admonition, 
model  and  example  to  the  pioneers  of  the  Current  Reformation.  But 
the  latter  were  trying  to  break  a  way  not  fully  tried  before  them;  to 
clear  a  ground,  spacious  and  broad,  for  the  exercise  of  liberty  and 
standing-room  for  all. 

The  "Current  Reformation"  was  a  providential  movement.  It  came 
in  a  time  of  great  religious  depression.  Many  serious  hearts  were 
greatly  troubled  at  the  apparent  outcome  of  Protestantism, — an  in- 
definite number  of  warring  sects.  They  had  burdensome  doubts  as  to 
the  real  progress  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  movement  arose  first 
with  individual  men,  then  with  independent  churches.  They  were 
found  scattered  over  Scotland,  England,  Ireland,  America  and  Aus- 
tralia. They  became  grouped,  not  from  any  unity  of  origin,  but  by 
similarity  of  aim.  It  is  in  the  final  cause  alone  they  find  the  traits  of  a 
common  species.  They  came  out  from  all  the  various  religious  estab- 
lishments of  the  time,  and  some  were  without  previous  church  con- 
nection. They  groped  their  way,  for  the  most  part,  independently  of 
each  other,  toward  what  they  felt  to  be  the  light.  But  they  had  one 
thing  in  common, — the  genius  of  a  common  Protestantism.  They 
sought  to  get  back  of  the  variant  and  contradictory  forms  of  Chris- 
tianity to  the  eternal  Word  of  God  behind  all.  They  opened  their 
Bibles  anew,  to  find  there  "the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life,"  apart 
from  the  dominant  ecclesiastical  and  doctrinal  systems.  They  saw  in 
these  the  dogmas  and  traditions  of  men.  They  sought  to  do  for  the 
current  Protestantism  what  Euther  had  done  for  the  Catholicism  of 
his  time.  They  claimed  to  be  the  ultimate  and  logical  Protestantism, — 
to  leave  the  farthest  behind  the  remains  of  the  Roman  Church.  They 
were  rightly  called  the  "Reformers,"  and  their  work  was  the  "Current 
Reformation." 

Thus  diverse  in  origin,  they  admitted  the  largest  liberty  of  opin- 
ion, but  show  a  remarkable  unity  of  faith.  Eet  us  hear  these  original 
leaders  speak  for  themselves. 

80 


The  Rise.  81 

The    English    Brethren. 

In  the  Christian  Baptist,  a  monthly  magazine  published  by  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  of  Bethany,  Va.,  1823-30,  are  found  a  series  of  letters 
setting  forth  the  faith  and  order  of  several  churches  widely  separated 
from  one  another.  These  sketches  were  collected  in  response  to  a 
circular  letter  sent  out  by  a  church  in  New  York  in  1818,  and  were 
later  published  in  a  volume  (C.  B.  389).  The  occasion  of  their  inser- 
tion in  the  Christian  Baptist  is  a  point  of  interest.  In  the  first  volume 
bi  his  magazine  Mr.  Campbell  had  made  many  severe  criticisms  of  the 
popular  churches  of  his  time.  In  the  second,  he  felt  called  upon  to  do  a 
more  constructive  work,  to  build  up  where  he  had  torn  down;  or,  as  he 
puts  it,  to  *'pay  a  little  more  attention  to  the  primitive  state  of  things" 
(C.  B.  80).  He  began  accordingly  his  celebrated  series  of  essays  on 
"A  Restoration  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Things"  (C.  B.  126,  133,  139, 
etc.).  He  pays  his  respects  to  all  previous  reformations,  but  declares 
this  to  be  the  ideal  and  "all  that  is  necessary  to  the  happiness  and 
usefulness  of  Christians"  (C.  B.  128).  While  this  series  was  yet  running, 
a  reader  wrote  to  ascertain  the  method  to  be  used  in  the  introduction 
of  the  "Ancient  Order"  (C.  B.  184).  He  accused  Mr.  Campbell  of 
merely  theorizing  on  the  subject,  and  announced  himself  as  ready  to 
begin  to  reform  if  a  move  could  be  determined  with  respect  to  the 
churches  already  in  existence  which  would  not  do  more  harm  than 
good.  Mr.  Campbell  confessed  in  reply  the  difficulty  of  the  under- 
taking, but  thought  it  not  unsurmountable  (C.  B.  185).  Prejudices 
and  opposition  may  be  aroused,  indifference  and  despair  may  be  com- 
mon; but  as  it  was  with  the  Jews  while  in  captivity,  he  held  that  it 
was  the  duty  of  Christians  to  remove  from  Babylon  and  restore  a  liv- 
ing model  of  the  Lord's  House.  Mr.  Campbell  then  gave  a  brief  state- 
ment of  method  (C.  B.  185),  but  concluded: — 

"As  the  best  solution  of  these  difficulties,  we  intend  to  give  the 
history  of  the  progress  and  proficiency  of  some  congregations  who 
have  taken  this  course,  and  are  now  enjoying  a  participation  of  the 
fulness  of  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  of  Christ." 

He  appealed  to  history ;  he  proposed  to  show  how  the  reform  could 
be  done  by  showing  how  it  had  been  done. 

But  Mr.  Campbell  was  delayed  in  his  purpose  by  the  publication 
of  his  translation  of  the  New  Testament  (C.  B.  225,  243).  Meanwhile, 
a  second  reader  sent  a  sketch  of  a  church  in  Scotland  (name  and  place 
not  given),  which  was  published  in  the  Christian  Magazine,  Edin- 
burgh, 1819  (C.  B.  243).  This  Mr.  Campbell  readily  accepted  as  a 
(6) 


82  'The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Refora^ation. 

sample  of  his  "Ancient  Order."    Its  story,  as  told  by  one  of  its  mem- 
bers, runs  as  follows  (C.  B.  245) : — 

"We  have  met  together  as  a  church  for  these  six  years  past.  The 
original  members  were  intimately  acquainted  with  one  another.  Each  of 
us  had,  for  a  considerable  time,  been  groaning  under  the  defects  of  the 
societies  with  which  wq  were  then  connected.  We  clearly  perceived 
that  they  bore  none  of  the  features  of  the  churches  set  in  order  by  the 
apostles ;  but  we  sinfully  contented  ourselves  with  our  condition.  Our 
chief  comfort,  as  to  Christian  society,  arose  from  assembling  together 
once  a  week  in  what  is  called  a  fellowship  meeting.  On  one  of  these 
occasions  a  member  spoke  with  some  freedom  on  the  distress  he  felt, 
arising  from  the  cause  above  mentioned.  This  led  the  way  to  a  free 
conversation ;  and  we  soon  found  our  distress  was  not '  that  of  an  in- 
dividual, but  common  to  us  all.  We  therefore  resolved  to  walk  together 
as  a  church  in  all  the  ordinances  and  commandments  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  diligently  searching  the  Scriptures  to  know  his  will,  and  ferv- 
ently praying  to  be  guided  by  him.  From  that  period  we  have  assem- 
bled regularly  on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  The  Lord  has  been  pleased 
graciously  to  countenance  us.  Our  beginning  was  indeed  small;  we 
were  few  and  despised,  but  walking,  as  I  trust,  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord 
and  in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  have  been  greatly  multiplied. 
We  had  soon  the  satisfaction  of  choosing  two  of  our  brethren,  with 
whose  qualifications  we  were  entirely  satisfied,  as  our  elders.  Their 
labors  of  love  have  been  much  blessed,  and  one  and  another  has  from 
time  to  time  been  added  to  our  number.  Our  communion  commenced 
in  the  full  conviction  that  we  were  yieldmg  obedience  to  the  Lord 
Jesus.  And  now  we  have  increasing  experience  of  the  truth  of  our 
Saviour's  declaration,  that  if  any  man  do  his  will  he  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God.  We  have  no  standard  but  the  will  of 
our  Master;  and  this  we  find  so  clearly  stated  in  the  Scriptures  that, 
with  the  teachable  spirit  of  disciples,  we  are  in  no  danger  of  misunder- 
standing it.  We  know  the  benefits  of  Christian  fellowship,  by  com- 
ing together  into  one  place  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  regularly 
observing  the  ordinances  of  Christ,  we  not  only  get  better  acquainted, 
but  our  interest  in  each  other  is  greatly  promoted.  While  we  follow 
our  own  convictions  of  duty,  and  are  thankful  that,  in  this  highly  fa- 
vored country,  every  man  enjoys  liberty  to  worship  God  according 
to  his  own  conscience,  we,  at  the  same  time,  cherish  a  loving  spirit 
towards  all  who  truly  fear  God;  we  earnestly  desire  the  universal 
spread  of  the  Gospel,  and  use  every  means  in  our  power  for  the  salva- 
tion of  perishing  sinners  around  us." 

The  promised  sketches  were  soon  forthcoming.  The  New  York 
letter  leads  (C.  B.  389)  :— 

"The  Ctiurch  professing  obedience  to  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  assem- 
blnig  together  in  N.  York:  To  the  Churches  of  Christ  scattered 
over  the  earth: 


The   Engush   Brethren.  83 

"Dearly  Beloved — That  you  may  be  better  informed  concerning 
those  who  thus  address  you,  we  have  deemed  it  requisite  to  give  the 
following  brief  sketch  of  our  public  worship — soliciting,  at  the  same 
time,  that  wherein  you  may  differ  from  us  in  any  matter,  faithfulness 
will  dispose  you  to  refer  us  to  apostolic  practice,  plain  and  intelligible 
to  the  capacity  of  the  plain  and  simple  followers  of  the  Lamb — as  we 
have  not  much  of  this  world's  learning,  and  are  disposed  to  admit  that 
alone  as  obligatory,  which  can  be  clearly  adduced  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment, without  the  aid  of  sophistry  or  allusion  to  the  practices  of  man. 
And  we  trust  it  may  be  given  us  from  above,  to  receive  with  meekness 
whatever  of  this  nature  your  love  and  concern  for  our  welfare  may 
dispose  you  to  communicate. 

"The  order,  which  we  derive  from  the  law  of  Christ,  is  as  follows : 

"We  require  that  all  whom  we  receive  into  fellowship  should  be- 
lieve in  their  heart,  and  confess  with  their  mouth,  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ ;  that  he  died  for  our  sins,  according  to  the  Scriptures ;  and  that 
upon  such  confession,  and  such  alone,  they  should  be  baptized. 

"We  hold  it  to  be  the  duty  and  privilege  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus 
to  come  together  into  one  place  on  every  first  day  of  the  week,  rejoic- 
ing in  the  recollections  which  that  day  revives — whereon  the  Lord 
Jesus  destroyed  the  power  both  of  hell  and  death,  by  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead,  and  gave  sure  hope  to  his  people  of  being  raised  also. 

"When  thus  assembled,  we  proceed  to  attend  to  all  the  ordinances 
which  we  can  discover  to  be  enjoined  by  the  practice  of  the  first 
churches  and  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  and  his  apostles." 

An  order  of  service  was  then  presented.  A  method  of  discipline 
was  also  set  forth.    The  letter  continues  (C.  B.  390)  : — 

"The  questions  and  disputations  that  generally  prevail  among 
professing  Christians  have  no  place  among  us;  their  reasonings  and 
speculations  occupy  no  part  of  our  time.  The  knowledge  of  the  simple 
truth,  declared  by  the  Lord  Jesus  and  his  apostles — and  the  practical 
godliness  arising  from  that  knowledge,  are  the  things  whereon  we 
desire  to  bestow  our  attention." 

and  closes  (C.  B.  390) : — 

"There  are  scattered  over  this  continent  a  few  small  societies  who 
have  conformed  in  part  to  the  simplicity  of  the  apostolic  faith  and  prac- 
tice. We  also  address  to  such  a  similar  epistle,  and  should  you  favor 
us  with  your  correspondence,  we  purpose,  if  the  Lord  will,  to  make 
known  the  result  of  this  our  communication,  to  all  whom  we  shall  have 
reason  to  esteem  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

"The  date  of  your  coming  together — the  number  of  members — 
whether  you  have  elders  and  deacons — together  with  any  additional  in- 
formation, will  be  very  acceptable  to  the  church  that  thus  addresses  you. 
(Signed)  "Wii^uam  Ovington, 

"Hknry  Erritt,  Elders/' 

This  letter  was  answered  by  (C.  B.  390) : — 


84  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reeormation. 

"The  Church  of  Christ  meeting  in  Morrison's  Court,  Glasgow,  to  their 
brethren  the  Church  of  Christ  in  New  York. 
''Dearly  Beloved — Your  epistle  of  March  the  ist  came  duly  to  us, 
and  our  joy  and  gratitude  to  the  Father  of  mercies  have  been  excited 
by  this  instance  of  a  society  of  believers  in  Christ,  meeting  together 
among  themselves,  and  separating  from  the  world  and  from  false  pro- 
fessors, in  order  to  walk  according  to  the  dictates  of  the  kingdom  of 
Zion,  directed  by  his  word  and  spirit  in  the  exhibition  of  his  kingdom. 
We  are  glad  to  observe  also  your  zeal  for  ancient  brotherly  intercourse 
between  churches  holding  the  same  faith  and  observing  the  same  prac- 
tices— an  attainment  too  much  neglected  in  our  days." 

A  similar  faith  and  order  was  set  forth,  but  with  independence  in 
particulars.    The  letter  closes  (C.  B.  391)  : — 

"Such  churches  as  ours  have  existed  in  Scotland,  at  Edinburgh 
and  Glasgow,  from  thirty  to  forty  years.  Of  late  (1812)  a  division 
took  place  on  the  question  of  small  societies,  without  pastors,  having  a 
right  to  use  the  Lord's  Supper.  We  took  the  affirmative  of  this  ques- 
tion. We  differ  from  some  other  Baptists  also  in  receiving  only  baptized 
believers,  whilst  they  plead  for  admitting  all  true  believers  to  their 
fellowship.  We  differ  from  others  who  forbid  the  brotherly  exhorta- 
tions on  the  Lord's  day  in  the  public  meetings  of  the  church.  Our 
members  are  about  one  hundred  and  eighty.  Those  of  our  sister  church 
at  Paisley  about  the  same.  There  are  besides  a  number  of  churches, 
as  at  Perth,  London,  Liverpool,  &c.,  &c.,  and  many  societies  without 
pastors,  with  whom  we  are  in  the  habit  of  Christian  intercourse." 

A  second  response  came  from 

"The  Church  of  Christ  assembling  in  Leith  Walk,  Edinburgh,  to  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  New  York"  (C.  B.  392)  :— 

"Dear  Brethren — ^We  have  been  much  refreshed,  and  edified,  by  the 
communication  with  which  you  have  favored  us.  Convinced  that  the 
more  general  diffusion  of  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom  must  be  accompa- 
nied with  a  greater  degree  of  union  among  believers,  and  that  that 
union  can  only  be  produced  by  renouncing  our  own  wisdom,  and  keep- 
ing the  ordinances  as  delivered  by  the  apostles.  I  Cor.  1 1 :2.  We  en- 
deavor in  all  things  to  observe  the  instructions  contained  in  the  New 
Testament.  We  are,  however,  deeply  sensible,  from  what  we  observe 
in  others  and  still  more  from  our  own  experience,  that  we  are  prone 
to  be  misled  and  blinded  by  prejudice  while  professing  a  desire  to  do 
the  will  of  God;  and,  therefore,  we  are  happy  to  communicate  with 
our  brethren,  that  we  may  be  mutually  profitable  to  each  other. 

"In  compliance  with  your  wish,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  give  you 
a  brief  sketch  of  our  history  as  a  church,  and  inform  you  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  we  conduct  our  worship.  In  most  respects  it  agrees  with 
your  practice ;  and  where  it  differs,  we  shall  mention  to  you  the  rea- 
sons of  our  conduct. 

"It  is  about  twenty  years  since  we  were  associated  together.  At 
that  time  we  observed  the  Lord's  Supper  once  a  month ;  and  although 


The  English   Brethren.  g5 

we  had  a  pastor,  we  also  procured  a  succession  of  preachers  from  a 
distance,  whose  discourses  were  more  addressed  to  those  who  were 
without  than  to  the  church. 

"Our  first  step  towards  scriptural  order  was  our  beginning  to  break 
bread  every  Lord's  day.  In  examining  this  subject,  we  learned  that 
the  churches  of  Christ,  to  the  end  of  the  world,  ought  in  all  things  to  be 
guided  by  the  apostolic  traditions. 

''The  subject  of  mutual  exhortation  and  discipline  on  the  Lord's 
day  was  next  agitated.  These  had  formerly  been  attended  to  at  our 
weekly  evening  meeting,  but  we  became  convinced  that  whatever  is 
enjoined  on  the  churches  should  be  observed  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  as  this  is  the  only  day  on  which  the  disciples  are  commanded 
to  assemble,  and  on  which  the  great  body  of  the  church  are  able  to 
attend.  About  the  same  time,  the  question  of  baptism  came  under  our 
consideration ;  and  in  consequence  of  many  being  baptized,  and  mutual 
exhortation  and  discipline  on  the  Lord's  day  being  introduced,  a  con- 
considerable  number  left  us,  who  still  continue  to  assemble  as  an  Inde- 
pendent church.  This  took  place  about  ten  years  ago,  since  which 
time  we  have  observed  our  present  order. 

"Our  number  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty.  We  have  three 
elders  and  four  deacons;  we  had  four  elders,  but  one  of  them  (Brother 
Thompson)  has  for  many  years  been  desirous  of  preaching  Christ  in 
foreign  lands,  and  has  left  us  with  this  intention.  He  was  commended 
to  the  Lord  for  the  work  by  prayer,  with  fasting  and  laying  on  of  hands. 
He  sailed  on  the  12th  instant  from  Liverpool  for  Buenos  Ayres,  as  he 
considered  the  southern  part  of  your  continent  to  be  more  neglected 
than  any  other  missionary  field.  We  request  your  constant  prayers  on 
his  behalf." 

A  similar  letter  was  received  from  the  Church  of  Christ  at  Tuber- 
more,  Ireland,  organized  in  1807  (C.  B.  407)  ;  another  from  the  Church 
at  Manchester,  England,  dating  back  to  1810  (C.  B.  414),  and  another 
from  the  Church  at  Dublin  of  the  same  date  (C.  B.  420). 

These  letters  are  only  a  few  of  the  volume  published  by  the  New 
York  Church.  Mr.  Campbell  says  in  his  review  of  the  series  (C.  B. 
442):— 

"We  have  given  the  history  or  brief  notices  of  the  origin  and  prog- 
ress of  sundry  churches  or  congregations  which,  in  Europe  and 
America,  have  attempted  to  move  out  of  Babylon.  To  these  we  might 
have  added  many  more,  but  a  sufficient  variety  appears  in  the  num- 
ber given  to  afford  a  fair  specimen." 

"From  the  specimens  given,  several  prominent  features  of  char- 
acteristic importance  appear  pretty  much  alike  in  all :  — 

"ist.  Although  in  countries  far  remote  from  each  other,  and 
without  the  identifying  influences  of  ecclesiastic  jurisdiction,  in  the 
form  of  superintending  judicatories,   they  appear  to  have  agreed  in 


86  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

making  the  Scriptures  the  sole  and  all-sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  man- 
ners— without  the  assistance  of  any  creed  or  formula  of  human  con- 
trivance, 

"2d.  In  the  next  place,  they  appear  to  have  drawn  from  the  same 
source  the  same  general  views  of  the  genius  and  design  of  the  institu- 
tion of  a  public  weekly  meeting  of  Christians  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week. 

**3d.  All  concur  unanimously  in  the  necessity  and  importance  of 
the  principal  items  of  worship  constituting  the  ancient  order  of  things, 
such  as  the  weekly  commemoration  of  the  death  of  Jesus  and  the  res- 
urrection ;  the  contribution  or  fellowship  for  the  necessity  of  samts ; 
public  and  social  prayer  and  praise,  with  the  exercise  of  discipline 
when  necessary ;  and,  indeed,  all  the  other  public  means  of  edification ; 
such  as  public  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  teaching,  preaching  and  ex- 
hortation. 

"4th.  They  moreover  give  the  same  general  representation  of  their 
regard  for,  as  well  as  apprehension  of,  the  nature  and  design  of  the 
true  grace  of  God — and  the  indispensable  need  of  a  moral  and  pious 
life." 

Thus,  while  Mr.  Campbell  did  not  hesitate  to  criticize  some  of  these 
churches  for  what  ^  e  considered  still  to  be  the  remains  of  Catholi- 
cism in  their  midst  (C.  B.  442,  449,  457),  he  confessed  himself  in  sub- 
stantial communion  with  them  (Harb.  '35,  113),  and  gave  the  consti- 
tution of  a  church  founded  among  his  new  converts  in  Ohio  as  an  ex- 
ample of  his  own  practice  (C.  B.  458,  456). 

We  can  identify  some  of  these  churches.  The  New  York  Church 
is  identical  with  the  West  Fifty-sixth  Street  Church  of  the  Disciples 
to-day,  with  which  the  Disciples  of  Christ  have  always  been  in  com- 
munion. The  Glasgow  Church  was  probably  of  Scotch  Baptist  origm. 
It  antedates  the  Haldanes  (C.  B.  391).  It  was  not  the  same  as  the 
congregation  of  Greville  Ewing,  which  met  on  Jamaica  street  (Rich. 
Mem.  I,  167;  Haldane's  Mem.,  225).  In  fellowship  with  this  congre- 
gation were  churches  at  Paisley,  Perth,  London,  Liverpool  (C.  B.  391), 
Manchester,  Nottingham,  etc.  (Harb.  '35,  297). 

The  Edinburgh  Church  was  the  congregation  of  J.  A.  Haldane, 
the  remains  of  the  Circus  congregation  which  had  moved  to  Leith 
Walk  (A.  Haldane  Mem.,  273-4),  which,  by  the  immersion  of  the  ma- 
jority of  its  members  and  consequent  withdrawal  of  the  minority,  had 
approached  the  order  of  the  Scotch  Baptist  churches,  though  independ- 
ent of  them  (A.  Haldane  Mem.,  325-6).  The  Tubermore  (Ireland) 
Church  was  the  congregation  of  Alexander  Carson,  who  had   with- 


The  Engush   Brethren.  87 

r 

drawn  from  the  Established  Church  in  1803,  because  he  had  become 
an  Independent  in  his  views  of  church  government  (C.  B.  75).  He 
also  became  an  immersionist,  although  the  subject  was  one  of  forbear- 
ance in  his  church  membership. 

Most  of  these  churches  arose  independently  of  each  other.  They 
had  formed  some  acquaintance  with  one  another  through  circular  let- 
ters, of  which  the  New  York  letter  is  a  fair  sample  (C.  B.  415).  An 
occasional  messenger  passed  from  one  to  another,  and  told  of  the 
attempts  of  his  brethren  at  home  to  live  the  simple  faith  of  the  New- 
Testament.  As  yet  there  was  no  stated  ministry,  but  the  care  of  the 
churches  under  an  eldership,  which  supported  itself  by  some  daily 
occupation,  tended  to  further  isolation.  These  churches  of  Scotland, 
fii^ngland  and  Ireland,  which  had  already  begun  to  feel  tliat  they  had 
something  in  common,  sent  many  members  to  America  (C.  B.  414; 
Harb.  '35,  305,  563) ;  who,  when  they  saw  the  work  of  the  Campbells 
and  their  associates,  joined  heartily  in  the  movement.  Walter  Scott 
and  John  Thomas,  of  Virginia,  were  of  this  number.  Through  such, 
the  writings  of  Mr.  Campbell  were  gradually  introduced  into  Great 
Britain  (Harb.  '48,  514).  These  brought  fortli  fruit.  In  1835,  William 
Jones,  of  London,  began  the  publication  of  the  British  Millennial  Harb- 
inger, a  reprint  of  selected  portions  of  the  Christian  Baptist  and  Mil- 
lennial Harbinger.  When  he  later  dissented  from  Mr.  Campbell's 
views  on  the  Holy  Spirit  and  ceased  the  publication,  it  was  taken  up 
by  the  Nottingham  brethren  under  the  title  of  the  Christian .  Messenger, 
J.  Wallis,  Editor.  Under  this  guidance,  the  churches  of  diverse  origins 
approached  more  and  more  a  common  type.  To  them  Mr.  Campbell 
went  on  invitation,  in  company  with  James  Henshal,  as  the  messenger 
of  the  American  churches  of  the  same  faith  and  order,  in  1848.  He 
was  received  as  a  brother  by  congregations  in  Mollington,  Liverpool, 
Chester,  Shrewsbury,  Nottingham,  London,  etc.  He  declared  the  "faith 
once  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints,"  and  his  message  was  gladly  re- 
ceived. He  continued  his  tour  through  Scotland,  where  he  was  met 
by  some  two  or  three  hundred  brethren  from  near  and  far  (Harb.  '48, 
219).  Here  he  noted  with  sorrow  the  decline  of  the  great  church  of 
James  A.  Haldane  (Harb.  '48,  220-1).  He  returned  south  by  way  of 
Ireland,  where  he  visited  his  old  home  and  was  refused  admission  by  the 
son  of  Alexander  Carson  to  the  historic  church  of  Tubermore  (Harb. 
•48,  515),  now  in  communion  with  the  English  Baptists.  He  hastened 
on  to  Chester,  Eng.,  where  representatives  of  all  the  churches  of  Great 
Britain  professing  the  primitive  order  were  gathered,  of  which  a  co- 
operation was  formed  for  the  propagation  of  the  cause    (Harb.  '48, 


38  Ths  Rise  o^  the  Current  Reeormation. 

569-572).  These  constituted  what  we  sometimes  call  the  "Old  English 
Brethren,"  and  whose  work  has  by  no  means  been  adequately  recog- 
nized. 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  Current  Reformation  antedates  the 
Campbells, — not  the  son  only,  but  the  father  also.  It  was  a  general 
movement, — ^the  manifestation  of  a  certain  phase  of  Protestantism — 
the  product  of  the  Divine  Spirit  working  on  the  spirit  of  the  age  in 
the  begmning  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  It  had  its  rise  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God.  Originating  independently  from  distant  and  diverse 
soils,  its  factors  found  means  of  communication  and  progressive  union 
through  the  publications  of  Alexander  Campbell.  But  this  man,  ad- 
mittedly the  greatest  spirit  of  the  movement,  was  only  the  voice,  not 
the  source;  a  product,  not  the  founder  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ;  a 
brother  in  the  Lord,  and  not  the  father  of  us  all.  He  brought  the 
principles  of  the  movement  to  their  most  classical  expression.  In  so  far 
he  became  a  model  for  all  who  followed.  The  tribute  of  Barton  W. 
Stone,  uttered  in  1827,  well  expressed  the  intense  interest  and  extreme 
solicitude  of  hundreds  of  independent  and  older  reformers  as  they 
looked  upon  his  career  (C.  B.  378). 
"From  the  Christian  Messenger  to  the  Christian  Baptist : 

^'Brother  Campbell — Your  talents  and  learning  we  have  highly 
respected;  your  course  we  have  generally  approved;  your  religious 
views,  in  many  points,  accord  with  our  own ;  and  to  one  point  we  have 
hoped  we  both  were  directing  our  efforts,  which  point  is  to  unite  the 
flock  of  Christ,  scattered  in  the  dark  and  cloudy  day.  We  have  seen 
you,  with  the  arm  of  a  Samson,  and  the  courage  of  a  David,  tearing 
away  the  long  established  foundations  of  partyism,  human  authorita- 
tive creeds  and  confessions;  we  have  seen  you  successfully  attacking 
many  false  notions  and  speculations  in  religion — and  against  every  sub- 
stitute for  the  Bible  and  its  simxplicity  we  have  seen  you  exerting  all 
your  mighty  powers.  Human  edifices  begin  to  totter,  and  their  builders 
to  tremble.  Every  means  is  tried  to  prevent  their  ruin,  and  to  crush 
the  man  who  dares  attempt  it.  We  confess  our  fears  that  in  some  of 
your  well-intended  aims  at  error  you  have  unintentionally  wounded  the 
truth.  Not  as  unconcerned  spectators  have  we  looked  on  the  mighty 
war  between  you  and  your  opposers ;  a  war  in  which  many  of  us  had 
been  engaged  for  many  years  before  you  entered  the  field.  You  have 
made  a  diversion  in  our  favor,  and  to  you  is  turned  the  attention  of 
creed  makers  and  party  spirits,  and  on  you  is  hurled  their  ghostly  thun- 
der. We  enjoy  a  temporary  peace  and  respite  from  war  where  you  are 
known/' 

Mr.  Campbell  always  entered  the  arena  conscious  of  this  cloud 
of  witnesses  behmd  and  around  him.  He  was  strong  to  run  his  race, 
because  he  knew  he  bore  the  love  and  goodwill  of  a  great  multitude  of 


The   Disciples.  89 

the  noblest  and  sincerest  souls  of  his  kind.  A  right  understanding  of 
this  relation  will  greatly  help  the  proper  appreciation  of  the  Current 
Reformation. 

II. 
When  we  turn  to  the  American  wing  of  the  Current  Reformation, 
we  come  out  into  the  clear  light  of  history.  Here,  too,  the  movement 
came  of  diverse  origins.  By  the  process  of  mutual  recognition  and  coal- 
ition the  independent  factors  became  one.  Three  nuclei  of  beginnings  are 
easily  determined:  (i)  The  group  around  the  New  York  church; 
(2)  that  around  the  Campbells,  of  Bethany,  Va. ;  (3)  that  around  Bar- 
ton W.  Stone,  of  Kentucky.    Let  us  study  each  of  these  in  turn. 

I.  The  Disciples. 
As  far  as  we  can  gather,  the  New  York  Church  arose  from  the 
immigration  of  Scotch  Baptists  to  America  (Harb.  '35,  298).  The 
date  of  its  beginning,  as  far  as  we  can  ascertain,  was  1810.  It  had  a 
full-fledged  organization  in  181 8,  and  had  sufficient  self-consciousness 
jto  prepare  a  circular  letter  setting  forth  its  faith  and  order  and  to 
address  it  to  a  series  of  churches  in  America  and  Europe  which  were 
felt  to  be  of  its  kind  (C.  B.  390).  This  letter  solicited  correspondence 
and  a  mutual  exchange  of  ideas  and  aims.  It  was  no  accident  that 
this  letter  reached  a  certain  group  of  churches,  and  no  others,  and  was 
responded  to  cordially  by  them.  This  group  had  had  a  common  root  in 
the  Old  World.  But  in  new  surroundings,  the  New  York  brethren,  set- 
ting their  model  in  the  "apostolic  practice,"  desiring  to  admit  as  obliga- 
tory only  that  which  can  be  clearly  adduced  from  the  New  Testament, 
sought  a  faith  and  order  the  result  of  their  own  researches  and  set  them 
forth  for  the  friendly  criticism  of  those  most  akin  to  them  (C.  B. 
389-90).  Admission  to  membership  in  this  church  was  conditioned 
on  a  confession  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  baptism  into  His  name. 
They  met  together  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  in  commemoration  of 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  They  sought  therein  to  attend  to  all  the  or- 
dinances for  which  precedent  or  precept  could  be  found  in  the  primi- 
tive churches.  They  sat  in  their  assemblies  apart  from  the  non-mem- 
bers, and  observed  the  following  order  of  service:  (i)  Prayer;  (2) 
Praise;  (3)  The  Lord's  Supper;  (4)  The  Fellowship — a  collection  for 
the  saints;  (5)  Reading  of  the  Scriptures — one  passage  from  the  Law, 
one  from  the  Prophets  and  one  from  the  New  Testament;  (6)  Ex- 
hortation, by  one  of  the  elders  or  brethren;  (7)  Praise;  (8)  Prayer 
and  Separation.  In  the  evening,  the  church  also  met,  when  one  of  the 
elders  declared  the  Gospel  to  those  without.     Thus  every  part  of  the 


90  The  Rise  o?  the  Current  Reeormation. 

Lord's  Day  services  was  held  as  a  matter  of  strict  obligation.  But  on  a 
week-day  evening  a  ''love  feast"  was  attended  to,  in  which  the  ''kiss  of 
charity"  and  washing  of  the  disciples'  feet  were  observed,  but  not  of 
the  same  obligation.  The  elders  labored  at  their  respective  callings, 
and  held  it  an  honor  not  to  be  burdensome  to  the  church.  A  strict 
discipline  was  maintained.  There  were  no  ranks  or  degrees  in  their 
relations  as  Christians,  but  all  were  brethren.  Forbearance  was  taught 
as  a  primal  virtue.  No  time  was  given  to  speculations  and  disputa- 
tions common  in  those  times;  but  the  knowledge  of  the  simple  truth 
declared  by  Jesus  and  His  apostles,  and  the  practical  godliness  arising 
therefrom,  was  enough  for  their  attention.  Unanimity  in  all  decisions 
of  the  church,  and  not  a  mere  majority,  was  regarded  as  the  scriptural 
rule.  They  called  the  congregation  the  "Church  of  Christ,"  and  its 
members  the  "Disciples."  They  already  had  a  flourishing  mission  at 
Danbury,  Conn.  (1817,  Life  of  Isaac  Errett  I,  26).  They  were  in  re- 
lation with  other  small  societies  in  America  (C.  B.  346),  from  one  of 
which,  viz:  that  of  Pittsburg,  came  the  connection  with  the  Campbells 
and  the  future  significance  of  the  New  York  Church  to  the  movement 
as  a  whole. 

George  Forrester,  a  Haldanean  preacher,  had  gathered  a  small 
congregation  In  Pittsburg,  while  he  supported  himself  by  the  conduct 
of  an  Academy.  Thither  came  Walter  Scott,  a  recent  graduate  of  Ed- 
inburgh University,  to  see  the  Western  country,  1818.  He  was  en- 
gaged as  a  fellow-teacher.  This  young  man,  reared  in  the  Established 
Church,  was  much  impressed  by  the  novelty  of  the  religious  views  of 
his  master,  to  which  he  soon  assented  and  united  with  the  church.  To 
this  church  came  the  pamphlets  of  the  New  York  Church.  These  so 
delighted  young  Scott  that  he  resigned  his  position  and  set  out  on  foot 
to  make  a  closer  acquaintance  with  the  New  York  brethren,  whom  he 
considered  as  most  excellent  in  their  views  of  the  Gospel.  But  on  ar- 
rival he  was  sorely  disappointed.  One  of  those  unfortunate  dissensions 
had  broken  out  which  have  so  often  put  to  shame  the  upholders  of  the 
''primitive  gospel,"  who  ever  find  it  difficult  to  bring  their  practice  up 
to  their  theory. 

Henry  Errett,  the  prime  mover  in  the  early  activities  of  the  church, 
had  withdrawn.  Scott  returned  to  Pittsburg,  soon  to  take  up  the  work 
of  Forrester  in  school  and  church.  In  1820,  Scott  met  Mr.  Camipbell, 
and  resolved  to  throw  himself  heartily  into  the  movement  which  the 
latter  then  represented.  A  union  was  soon  made  between  Scott's 
church  and  a  reformed  Baptist  church  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Sidney 
Rigdon   (Harb.  '48,  553).     To  this  church  later  came  the  family  of 


The  Reformers.  91 

Henry  Errett  (Lamar,  "Life  of  Isaac  Errett"  I,  40).  Here  Isaac 
Errett  was  baptized  and  began  his  labors  in  the  cause. 

Thus  these  early  Disciples  arose  independently  of  the  Campbells. 
They  were  in  reality  the  offshoots  of  the  English  Movement;  except 
that  in  the  new  country  old  party  lines  were  not  drawn,  and  the  pre- 
cursors and  representatives  of  the  Current  Reformation  coalesced  into 
one.    Thus  their  contribution  was  fourfold  : — 

(i)  They  made  the  connection  between  a  large  body  of  immi- 
grants, who  were  seeking  the  Bible  way,  and  the  movement  headed  by 
the  Campbells,  through  which  avenue  most  important  recruits  have 
been  gained  to  the  cause  in  this  country  (Harb.  '35,  298). 

(2)  They  gave  the  New  York  and  other  Eastern  churches,  from 
which  has  come  almost  the  whole  strength  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
in  New  York,  New  England  and  Canada. 

(3)  They  gave  the  rich  personalities  of  Walter  Scott  and  Isaac 
Errett,  without  whom  we  should  feel  ourselves  poor  indeed. 

(4)  They  gave  an  earlier,  a  more  separatist  understanding  of  the 
principles  of  the  Reformation;  which,  coupled  with  the  Scotch  traits 
of  character,  has  made  itself  felt  to  this  day. 

But  this  branch  of  the  Reformation  affiliated  at  the  beginning  with 
the  followers  of  Mr.  Campbell,  and  has  shared  in  the  labors  and  strug- 
gles of  the  movement  in  all  its  history. 

II.  The  Reformers. 
When  we  take  up  the  central  branch  of  the  Current  Reformation 
in  America,  we  are  in  a  much  more  favorable  position  as  historians. 
Here  men  were  before  the  movement.  From  a  study  of  the  characters 
of  Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell,  we  can  arrive  at  the  motives  of  the 
movement  and  the  principles  for  which  they  stood. 

Thomas  Campbell. 
Thomas  Campbell  comes  out  into  history  as  a  Seceder  minister  of 
the  North  of  Ireland.  He  was  of  Scotch  descent;  his  wife  of  French 
Huguenot.  He  had  been  educated  in  Glasgow  University  and  in  the 
theological  school  of  the  Anti-burgher  branch  of  the  Seceders  to  which 
he  belonged.  He  was  settled  at  Rich  Hill,  where  he  conducted  an  acad- 
emy, while  preaching  for  the  church  at  Ahorey  in  the  country.  But, 
catholic  in  spirit,  of  a  large  and  loving  heart  and  of  a  very  genial  and 
social  disposition,  he  could  not  confine  his  sympathies  to  the  narrow 
party  to  which  he  belonged.  He  felt  keenly  the  sins  of  sectarianism, 
and  set  it  as  his  life  work  to  do  something  to  heal  the  divisions  of  Chris- 
tianity. 


92  Ths  Rise  o?  the  Current  Reformation. 

His  first  public  act  was  an  effort  to  unite  the  Burghers  and  Anti- 
Burghers  of  Ireland  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  57).  The  burgess  oath  had  never 
been  required  on  that  island;  and  as  the  two  parties  were  willing  to 
unite,  there  seemed  to  him  to  be  not  the  slightest  reason  for  continued 
separation.  But  word  came  from  the  higher  court  in  Scotland,  express- 
ing in  advance  disapprobation  of  the  union.  Thomas  Campbell  was 
accordingly  sent  to  the  General  Associate  Synod  to  request  an  increased 
independence  for  the  Irish  churches.  His  petition  was  refused,  and  he 
returned  home,  having  lost  his  first  case  in  an  ecclesiastical  court,  much 
downcast  at  the  prospect.  This  bitter  experience  was  soon  to  be  re- 
peated, once  and  again,  on  a  far  different  soil.  The  health  of  Thomas 
Campbell  having  been  imperiled  by  constant  toil  in  school  and  church, 
a  voyage  to  America  was  prescribed  as  the  only  remedy.  He  set  out 
therefor.  Pleased  with  the  New  World,  he  ordered  his  family  to  fol- 
low, and  settled  at  Washington,  Western  Pennsylvania,  under  the 
charge  of  the  Chartiers  Presbytery  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  '88).  But  sectarian 
strife  was  even  more  bitter  on  the  American  frontier  than  in  the  Old 
Country.  Thomas  Campbell  was  not  slow  to  express  his  disapproval  of 
this  state  of  affairs,  and  to  show  his  high  respect  for  those  of  other  re- 
ligious parties.  His  personal  popularity  as  a  preacher  did  not  increase 
the  regard  for  him  among  his  less  accomplished  associates.  Accord- 
ingly, when  on  a  tour  north  of  Pittsburg  and  finding  many  Presbyte- 
rians, not  Seceders,  in  his  congregation,  he  took  occasion  to  lament 
the  existing  divisions  and  to  invite  them  to  sit  down  with  the  little 
Seceder  church  at  the  Lord's  Table.  Thomas  Campbell  greatly  prized 
this  ordinance.  His  heart  went  out  in  sympathy  to  those  Christians 
many  of  whom  had  not  had  the  privilege  of  communion  for  years.  But 
the  Seceders  were  close  communionists.  A  Mr.  Wilson,  who  was 
present  at  the  time,  finding  that  Thomas  Campbell  had  little  respect  for 
party  differences,  brought  the  charge  of  failure  to  maintain  a  strict  ad- 
herence to  the  Seceder  Testimony  and  Discipline  before  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  Chartiers  Presbytery.  Mr.  Campbell,  when  questioned  as  to 
his  views,  stated  that  he  had  always  been  opposed  to  religious  party- 
ism,  and  insisted  that  he  had  violated  no  precept  of  the  sacred  volume. 
The  Presbytery  voted  that  he  be  censured.  Mr.  Campbell  appealed  to 
the  Synod.  This  higher  court  found  irregularities  in  the  action  of  the 
Presbytery,  but  let  the  censure  remain.  To  this  decision,  Mr.  Campbell 
at  first  submitted;  but  finding  that  the  enmity  of  his  fellow-ministers 
was  only  intensified  by  the  issue  of  the  trial,  he  sent  a  formal  renunci- 
ation of  the  authority  of  the  Synod  and  finally  withdrew  from  the  Se- 
ceders altogether  (Rich.  Mem.  I,  223-30),    The  pain  at  this  outcome 


Thomas   Campbell.  93 

of  so  trivial  an  offence  was  beyond  description  to  Thomas  Campbell. 
His  disappointment  in  Ireland  was  nothing  when  compared  with  it. 
He  was  sure  his  motives  were  the  best.  It  was  the  loving  heart  of 
Thomas  Campbell  which  got  him  into  trouble.  Note  the  part  this  shall 
play  in  the  future.  The  defence  before  the  Synod  is  an  interesting  doc- 
ument (Rich.  Mem.  I,  226-8).  It  shows  the  germs  of  the  later  ''Dec- 
laration and  Address."  When  accused  of  not  being  true  to  the  Seceder 
standard,  he  fell  back  on  the  Divine  Standard,  and  refused  to  be  con- 
vinced by  anything  less  than  a  "Thua  saith  the  Lord ;"  to  which  stand- 
ard he  promised  to  make  his  life  conformable.  He  soon  had  abundant 
opportunities  for  the  application  of  his  principle. 

To  cease  to  be  a  Seceder  did  not  mean  the  end  of  Thomas  Camp- 
bell's ministry.  His  old  Irish  neighbors  and  others  gathered  around 
him  in  closer  sympathy.  He  was  accustomed  to  address  them  in  barns 
and  groves  and  houses,  as  occasion  offered.  In  the  process  of  these 
discourses,  he  bewailed  the  partisan  divisions  of  the  church,  set  forth 
the  Bible  as  a  sufficient  rule  for  faith  and  practice  and  pleaded  for  Chris- 
tian Union  and  co-operation.  The  meeting  appointed  from  time  to 
time  was  compelled  at  last  to  face  the  question  of  a  permanent  organi- 
zation. The  tie  up  to  this  time  had  largely  been  the  personal  one.  The 
group  of  friends  of  Thomas  Campbell  represented  all  of  the  prominent 
sects  of  the  time,  and  some  had  never  belonged  to  any  church.  Upon 
what  basis  could  they  formally  unite  into  a  little  society;  and  what 
should  this  society  be  or  stand  for?  A  meeting  was  appointed  in  the 
home  of  Abraham  Altars  for  the  consideration  of  these  questions. 
Thomas  Campbell  spoke  to  the  subject.  He  reviewed  the  history  of 
their  little  gatherings,  defined  what  he  considered  the  basis  of  his  teach- 
ings, urged  them  to  accept  the  same  principles  and  closed  with  the 
words  which  are  his  chief  claim  to  fame:  "That  rule,  my  highly  re- 
spected hearers,  is  this,  that  where  the  Scriptures  speak  we  speak  and 
where  the  Scriptures  are  silent  we  are  silent.*'  This  utterance  came  like 
a  message  from  God  to  the  little  assembly.  All  felt  they  had  their  motto. 
The  plain,  simple  statement  of  the  Word  of  God  should  be  their  guide. 
They  would  have  no  other.  They  would  respect  the  silence  of  the 
Bible.  If  there  was  no  utterance,  there  should  be  no  doctrine.  Thus 
they  hoped  to  avoid  the  questions  on  which  the  Christian  World  had  di- 
vided, and  to  find  a  basis  for  union,  communion  and  a  reformation  of 
the  existing  state  of  affairs.     (Rich.  Mem.  I,  231-7). 

For  this  purpose  a  society  was  formed,  called  "The  Christian  As- 
sociation of  Washington."  Thomas  Campbell  found  his  models  for  this 
society  in  the  Wesleyan  and  Haldanean  societies  of  the  Old  World. 


94  1*HE  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reformation. 

Thomas  Campbell  and  Thomas  Acheson  were  appointed  to  draw  a  state- 
ment of  the  purposes  and  aims  of  the  association.  This  was  soon  pub- 
lished as  the  ''Declaration  and  Address."  In  this  document  of  fifty- 
four  pages  (Young's  Historical  Documents)  they  set  forth  their 
purpose  as  the  promoting  of  simple  evangelical  Christianity;  dis- 
avowed the  purpose  of  forming  a  church  or  separate  religious  party 
at  all ;  they  did  not  intend  to  observe  the  ordinances ;  they  were  to  meet 
only  half-yearly ;  they  were  merely  the  voluntary  advocates  of  a  church 
reformation,  viz.,  the  Union  of  all  Christians.  For  this  purpose,  they 
proposed  to  require  nothing  as  "a  matter  of  faith  or  duty,  for  which 
there  can  not  be  expressly  produced  a  'Thus  saith  the  Lord,'  either  in 
express  terms  or  by  approved  precedent." 

This  was  the  great  contribution  of  Thomas  Campbell, — the  empha- 
sis on  the  Principle  of  Christian  Union.  Others  had  held  to  it  as  some- 
thing to  be  desired,  as  a  part  of  the  ideal  Christian  state,  but  Thomas 
Campbell  made  the  first  strenuous  effort  to  realize  the  ideal.  This  de- 
sire was  the  mainspring  of  all  his  labors.  It  was  henceforth  to  remain 
at  the  front,  at  least  in  theory  if  not  in  practice. 

But  success  did  not  come  to  the  reformatory  movement  as  ex- 
pected. The  Declaration  and  Address  seemed  to  have  fallen  on  deaf 
ears.  No  second  Christian  Association  was  formed.  While  many 
praised  the  purpose  of  the  society,  few  publicly  espoused  its  cause.  Its 
members  were  more  and  more  breaking  away  from  their  previous 
church  connections.  It  seemed  that  the  Christian  Association  must  be- 
come a  new  party.  They  began  to  hear  the  reproach  that  instead  of 
promoting  union  they  were  adding  one  more  to  the  number  of  sects. 
The  dread  of  this  outcome,  which  was  just  the  opposite  of  the  purpose 
of  Thomas  Campbell,  seems  to  have  been  a  ruling  motive  in  this  period, 
and  accounts  for  a  course  of  action  which  from  any  other  consideration 
must  appear  as  weak  and  inconsistent. 

Accordingly,  when  some  friends  from  the  regular  Presbyterian 
Church  urged  him  to  unite  with  them,  he  made  formal  application  to 
the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  (1811),  for  "Christian  and  ministerial  commun- 
ion" with  that  body.  He  felt  his  belief  to  be  in  substantial  agreement 
with  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith.  In  this  proposed  union, 
Thomas  Campbell  stated  plainly  the  principles  and  purposes  of  the 
Christian  Association,  which  he  had  no  intention  of  giving  up.  He 
wished  to  submit  himself  to  the  authority  of  the  Synod  as  a  regular 
Presbyterian  minister,  while  he  went  on  in  the  work  of  this  non-eccles- 
iastical organization.  The  refusal  of  the  Synod  was  unanimous.  When 
pressed  for  reasons,  it  gave  the  following: 


AivEXANDER   Campbelu  '  95 

*'(a)  For  expressing  his  belief  that  there  are  some  opinions  taught 
in  our  Confession  of  Faith  which  are  not  founded  in  the  Bible. 

"(b)  For  declaring  that  the  administration  of  baptism  to  infants 
is  not  authorized  by  scriptural  precept  or  example. 

"(c)  For  encouraging  his  son  to  preach  without  any  regular  au- 
thority. 

"(d)  For  opposing  creeds  and  confessions  as  injurious  to  the  in- 
terest of  religion." 

But  the  chief  reason  was  that  "it  is  not  consistent  with  the  regula- 
tions of  the  Presbyterian  Church  that  the  Synod  should  form  a  connec- 
tion Vvdth  any  ministers,  churches  or  associations." 

This  reply  was  a  fair  statement  of  the  attitude  of  the  prominent 
denominations  to  the  Christian  Association.  Thomas  Campbell  felt  the 
rebuff  most  keenly.  He  and  Alexander  were  at  that  time  not  members 
of  any  sect ;  they  were  cut  off  from  church  privileges.  It  became  evi- 
dent that  the  Christian  Association  must  either  disband  or  become  an 
independent  church.  It  is  quite  likely  that  the  former  alternative  would 
have  been  the  fate  of  the  little  society  had  not  the  leadership  fallen  to  the 
son,  Alexander  Campbell,  now  twenty -three  years  of  age,  who  had  not 
favored  the  approach  to  the  Presbyterians,  and  now  he  did  not  propose 
that  the  aspersions  of  the  Synod  should  go  unanswered.  Accordingly, 
he  announced  that  he  would  reply  to  the  objections  of  the  Synod  at  the 
next  meeting  of  the  Christian  Association.  It  was  the  young  man's 
first  effort  at  polemics.  He'  took  up  the  objections  one  by  one  and  dealt 
with  them  so  effectively  that  all  saw  that  the  cause  had  found  a  new 
champion.  Under  his  bolder  and  more  aggressive  spirit  the  path  of 
further  progress  was  marked  out. 

Alexander    Campbell. 

The  future  of  the  Current  Reformation  was  so  bound  up  with  the 
destiny  of  this  young  man  that  we  are  justified  in  tracing  it  hereafter 
along  with  the  thread  of  his  personal  history.  We  can  do  this  almost 
wholly  in  his  own  language.  The  very  question  which  we  are  consid- 
ering had  often  been  propounded  to  Mr.  Campbell  in  the  prime  of  his 
manhood  (Harb.  '48,  280).  He  answered  by  a  series  of  autobiographi- 
cal sketches  (C.  B.  J2,  92,  219,  228-9,  238,  664;  Harb.  '30,  137-8;  Harb. 
'35,  302-4;  Harb.  '48,  278-83,  344-9,  522-4,  552-7,  613-6;  Harb.  '49, 
46-8),  which  are  both  most  interesting  and  the  most  authentic  sources 
for  our  information. 

Alexander  Campbell  was  bom  in  County  Antrim,  North  Ireland, 
in  1788.  We  can  pass  over  his  youth  and  education  for  our  present 
purposes,_  except  to  note  a  marked  trait  of  his  character,  viz..  inde- 


95  Thk  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

pendence  of  mind  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  33).  This  is  the  key  to  the  contri- 
bution of  the  son,  as  that  crowning  trait — a  cathoHc  spirit — explams  the 
work  of  the  father. 

He  considers  his  own  proper  career  to  begin  with  his  departure 
from  Ireland  (C.  B.  92)  : 

"I  sailed  from  the  city  of  Londonderry  on  the  3d  day  of  October, 
1808,  destined  for  the  city  of  Philadelphia;  but  being  shipwrecked  on 
the  coast  of  the  island  of  Ila  on  the  night  of  the  9th  of  the  same  month. 
I  was  detained  until  the  3d  day  of  August,  1809,  on  which  day  I  sailed 
from  the  city  of  Greenock  for  New  York.  On  the  27th  of  which  month 
I  and  the  whole  ship's  company  had  almost  perished  in  the  Atlantic ; 
but  through  the  watchful  care  and  tender  mercy  of  our  Heavenly 
Father,  we  were  brought  to  the  harbor  which  we  desired  to  see,  and 
safely  landed  in  New  York  on  the  29th  of  September,  1809.  On  the 
28th  of  the  next  month  I  arrived  in  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  to  which 
place  I  have  been  known  ever  since." 

He  had  experienced  a  normal  Eighteenth  Century  conversion  (C. 
B.  219,  see  p.  67;  Harb.  '30,  137).  He  had  been  an  enthusiast  of  the 
dominant  religion  (C.  B.  238).  His  calling  in  life  was  set  by  the  dom- 
ination of  the  same.     He  says  (C.  B.  664)  : 

"Having  been  educated  as  Presbyterian  clergymen  generally  are, 
and  looking  forward  to  the  ministry  as  both  an  honorable  and  useful 
calling,  all  my  expectations  and  prospects  in  future  life  were,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one,  identified  with  the  office  of  the  ministry." 

But  in  Scotland  he  met  Greville  Ewing;  who,  in  the  language  of 
Kant,  aroused  him  from  his  dogmatic  slumbers.    As  he  says  (C.  B.  92)  : 

"My  faith  in  creeds  and  confessions  of  human  device  was  considera- 
bly shaken  while  in  Scotland." 

But  too  much  must  not  be  made  of  this  experience.  As  he  says  in 
the  context  (C.  B.  92) : 

"I  arrived  in  this  country  with  credentials  in  my  pocket  from  that 
sect  of  Presbyterians  known  by  the  name  of  Seceders.  These  creden- 
tials certified  that  I  had  been  both  in  Ireland  in  the  presbytery  of  Market 
Hill,  and  in  Scotland  in  the  presbytery  of  Glasgow  a  member  of  the 
Secession  church,  in  good  standing." 

Nor  should  too  much  be  made  of  the  whole  Glasgow  influence 
(Rich  Mem.  I,  190).  He  was  only  twenty  years  of  age  at  the  time.  We 
can  hardly  expect  a  grasping  of  the  positive  principles  of  his  life  at  this 
early  period. 

The  shock  was  little  more  than  that  which  is  prone  to  come  upon 
any  young  man,  especially  in  college.  In  the  transition  from  the  religion 
of  youth  to  that  of  greater  maturity.    Certainly  the  period  of  crossing 


Alexander    Campbell.  97 

the  great  ocean  was  one  of  discontent  and  uncertainty.  On  arrival  in 
America,  he  was  ready  with  all  the  vigor  and  enthusiasm  of  young  man- 
hood to  launch  into  a  new  movement,  especially  when  presented  by  so 
loved  and  respected  a  guide  as  his  father  (Harb.  '48  282).  He  says 
.accordingly  (Harb.  '48,  280) : 

"The  first  proof-sheet  that  I  ever  read  was  a  form  of  *My  father's 
Declaration  and  x\ddress,'  in  press  in  Washington,  Pa.,  on  my  arrival 
there  in  October,  1809.  There  were  in  it  the  following  sentences: 
'Nothing  ought  to  be  received  into  the  faith  or  worship  of  the  church,  or 
to  be  made  a  term  of  communion  amongst  Christians,  that  is  not  as  old 
as  the  New  Testament.  Nor  ought  anything  to  be  admitted  as  of  Di- 
vine obligation  in  the  church  constitution  and  management  but  what  is 
expressly  enjoined  by  the  authority  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  His 
apostles  upon  the  New  Testament  church,  either  in  express  terms  o: 
approved  precedent/  These  last  words,  'express  terms'  and  'approved 
precedent,'  made  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind,  then  well-furnished 
with  the  popular  doctrines  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  all  its 
branches." 

Here  may  be  seen  the  part  played  by  Alexander  Campbell  in  the 
Current  Reformation.  He  came  in  after  the  principles  of  the  move- 
ment had  been  both  determined  and  stated.  These  he  accepted  from 
his  father,  who  had  arrived  at  them  while  separated  from  the  son. 
Alexander's  contribution  was :  ( i )  The  application  of  the^  principles 
of  the  Declaration  and  Address  to  the  teachings  and  practice  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  Association;  and  (2)  the  world-wide  proclamation 
of  the  same  through  his  writings  and  debates. 

Thus  his  statement  became  a  means  for  recognition  and  union  of 
numerous  independent  reformers  in  both  hemispheres.  As  he  savs  (C. 
B.  92) : 

"I  commenced  my  career  in  this  country  under  the  conviction  that 
nothing  that  was  not  as  old  as  the  New  Testament  should  be  made  an 
article  of  faith,  a  rule  of  practice,  or  a  term  of  communion  amongst 
Christians.  In  a  word,  that  the  whole  of  the  Christian  religion  exhib- 
ited in  prophecy  and  type  in  the  Old  Testament,  was  presented  in  the 
fullest,  clearest,  and  most  perfect  manner  in  the  New  Testament,  by 
the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation.  This  has  been  the  pole-star  of  my 
•course  ever  since,  and  I  thank  God  that  he  has  enabled  me  so  far  to 
prosecute  it,  and  to  make  all  my  prejudices  and  ambition  bow  to  this 
emancipating  principle/' 

We  reach  now  the  second  stage  of  the  history  of  this  central  branch 
of  the  American  Movement — from  1810  to  1830 — viz.,  the  application 
of  the  principles.     It  happened  to  be  coincident  also  with  the  connec- 
tion with  the  Baptists.     The  period  opened  with  the  overtures  to  the 
(7) 


98  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

Presbyterians.     Mr.  Campbell  gives  the  status  of  their  motives  and 
views  at  the  beginning  of  this  process  (Harb.  '37,  146)  : — 

"So  fully  were  we  aware  of  the  evils  of  schism,  and  so  reluctanc 
to  assume  the  attitude  of  a  new  party,  that  we  proposed  to  continue  in 
the  Presbyterian  connexion  even  after  we  were  convinced  of  various  im- 
perfections in  the  form  of  its  government,  in  its  system  of  discipline, 
in  its  administration  of  Christian  ordinances,  and  of  the  want  of  Scrips 
tural  warrant  for  infant  baptism ;  provided  only  they  would  allow  us  to 
follow  out  our  convictions  by  not  obliging  us  to  do  what  we  could  not 
approve,  and  allow  us  to  teach  and  enforce  only  those  matters  for  which 
we  could  produce  clear  Scriptural  authority  and  make  all  the  rest  a 
subject  of  forbearance  till  farther  enlightened." 

These  questions  of  difference  received  attention  one  by  one  and 
came  to  satisfactory  solution.    Let  us  take  them  up  in  order: — 

(i)     Church  Government  (C.  B.  92). 

"I  continued  in  the  examination  of  the  Scriptures,  ecclesiastical 
history,  and  systems  of  divinity,  ancient  and  modern,  until  July  15,  1810, 
on  which  day  I  publicly  avowed  my  convictions  of  the  independency  of 
the  church  of  Christ,  and  the  excellency  and  authority  of  the  Scriptures, 
in  a  discourse  from  the  last  section  of  what  is  commonly  called  'Christ's 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.'  " 

(See  Rich.  Mem.  I,  313.  345-9»  466). 

(2)  Baptism  (C.  B.  92). 

"In  conformity  to  the  grand  principle  which  I  have  called  the  pole- 
star  of  my  course  of  religious  inquiry,  I  was  led  to  question  the  claims 
of  infant  sprinkling  to  divine  authority,  and  was,  after  a  long,  serious, 
and  prayerful  examination  of  all  means  of  information,  led  to  solicit 
immersion  on  a  profession  of  my  faith,  when  as  yet  I  scarce  knew  a  Bap- 
tist from  Washington  to  the  Ohio,  in  the  immediate  region  of  my  la- 
bors, and  when  I  did  not  know  that  any  friend  or  relation  on  earth 
would  concur  with  me.  I  was  accordingly  baptized  by  Elder  Matthias 
Luse,  who  was  accompanied  by  Elder  Henry  Spears,  on  the  12th  day 
of  June,  1812." 

(See  Harb.  '48,  281-3;  Rich.  Mem.  I,  49,  82,  180-I,  186-7,  237-8, 

240,344-5,392-6). 

(3)  The  Confession — At  the  baptism  Mr.  Campbell  refused  to 
give  a  narration  of  his  religious  experience,  as  was  the  custom  among 
the  Baptists,  and  would  receive  the  rite  only  on  the  confession  that 
"Jesus  is  the  Christ."     (Harb.  '48,  282-3;  Rich.  Mem.  i,  398-410). 

This  change  of  views  on  the  subject  of  baptism  was  not  an  ordi- 
nary event  in  the  experiences  of  Alexander  Campbell.  It  led  to  a  trans- 
formation of  all  his  thinking:  under  the  guidance  of  his  new  principle^^ 


Alexander   Campbell.  99 

(Harb.  '48,  344).  It  marked  a  crisis  also  in  the  history  of  the  Christian 
Association.  Thomas  Campbell  and  the  majority  of  the  members  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  Alexander.  Many  others  took  offence  at  this 
action  and  withdrew.  The  Christian  Association  became  a  body  of  im- 
mersed believers.  This  brought  about  a  new  alignment.  At  the  time 
of  his  immersion,  Mr.  Campbell  had  an  intense  prejudice  against  the 
Baptists  (Harb.  '48,  345;  C.  B.  92).  But  again  their  ardent  desire  to 
make  for  Christian  Union,  and  not  to  start  a  new  religious  party,  over- 
came all  objections. 

Mr.  Campbell  says  (Harb.  '37,  146) : — 

"In  the  second  place,  when  it  became  necessary,  because  of  the  re- 
fusal of  our  Pgedobaptist  friends  to  permit  this,  and  more  especially 
because  of  our  actual  renunciation  of  infant  baptism,  to  be  separated 
from  our  former  religious  connections  (although  we  had  then  a  very 
humble  opinion  of  the  'inicelligence'  and  piety  of  the  Baptist  society  of 
Western  Pa.  and  Va.),  we  were  willing  to  unite  with  them  rather  than 
form  a  new  party,  and  did  accordingly  make  to  them  a  proposition  to 
that  effect." 

In  this  union,  it  was  not  the  purpose  of  the  members  of  the  Chris- 
tian Association  to  give  up  their  principles  and  purposes,  as  was  ex- 
plicitly stated  in  the  terms  of  agreement  (Harb.  '37,  147) — 

"In  our  overtures  to  the  Baptists  we  fully  and  faithfully  gave  them 
in  writing  an  explicit  statement  of  the  points  in  which  we  concurred 
with  them,  and  of  the  points  in  which  we  differed,  asserting  our  will- 
ingness to  co-operate  with  them  on  the  principle  of  mutual  forbearance 
on  all  matters  of  opinion,  and  of  united  action  in  all  matters  of  faith, 
piety  and  morality.  They  covenanted  to  form  such  a  union,  and  in 
good  faith  of  this  agreement  we  entered  into  it  September,  181 3.  On 
the  Bible,  as  our  only  rule  of  faith,  piety  and  morality,  we  solemnly 
covenanted,  as  the  Records  of  the  Redstone  Baptist  Association  will 
show.'* 

(So  C.  B.  92;  Harb.  '48,  346). 

Thus  the  Brush  Run  Church,  as  it  was  now  called,  did  not  adopt 
the  Philadelphia  Confession  of  Faith  as  its  creed,  after  the  manner  of 
Baptist  churches  in  that  day,  but  took  the  Bible  as  its  only  standard.  A 
model  was  thus  formed  for  an  order  of  reformation,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  many  of  the  Baptist  churches  themselves.  At  the  time  of 
union,  a  minority  of  the  Redstone  Association  opposed  the  action 
(Harb.  '48,  347) .  This  was  destined  to  grow  until  a  schism  between 
the  two  orders  took  place.  Meanwhile,  a  period  of  peace  ensued.  Mr. 
Campbell  gave  himself  to  pursuits  of  agriculture,  to  study  and  Itinera- 
ting amongiLthe  Baptist  churches  (C.  B.  92,  664;  Harb.  '48,  347).    'A 


100  The  Rise  o^  the  Current  Reeormation. 

meeting  house  was  built  at  Wellsburg.    Buffalo  Seminary  was  started 
1818. 

In  this  period,  the  principles  of  the  movement  were  applied  to  the 
following  subjects: — 

4.  Faith ;  its  nature  and  place  in  the  Christian  system  (Rich. 
Mem.  I,  411-28;  C.  B.  228-9;  Harb.  '30,  137).  See  pp. 
62,  63. 

5.  The  Lord's  Day, — versus  the  Sabbath    (Rich.  Mem.  I, 

433-5)- 

6.  The  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Harb.  '30,  137-8).  See  p.  66 

7.  The  Progress  of  Revelation,  The  Old  and  New  Testaments, 

the  Dispensations  (Harb.  '48,  348;  Rich.  Mem.  I,  471-9). 
See  p.  48. 

8.  Nomenclature, — whence  the  motto  "Bible  names  for  Bible 
things."     (Walker  Deb.  19). 

But  the  conflict  with  the  Baptists  soon  came  on  apace.  In  this 
conflict  the  Reformers,  as  they  now  came  to  be  called,  were  driven  vio- 
lently from  the  Baptist  fold ;  and  Mr.  Campbell  was  to  win  the  reputa- 
tion of  one  of  the  most  brilliant  controversialists  in  America.  This  proc- 
ess was  painful  enough.  There  was  much  misunderstanding  and  bit- 
terness on  both  sides.  We  shall  depict  it  most  briefly,  and  only  in  so 
far  as  the  purposes  of  our  study  demand.  The  first  battle  was  over  the 
Sermon  on  the  Law,  1816,  (See  Young's  Historical  Documents;  Harb. 
'46,  493-  ).  Jealousy  had  grown  up  in  the  breasts  of  some  of  the 
preachers  of  the  Redstone  Association.  The  erection  of  the  house  at 
Wellsburg  was  a  factor  in  this,  as  the  Cross  Creek  Church,  three  miles 
in  the  country,  regarded  this  as  an  encroachment  on  their  territory. 
Accordingly,  at  an  association  meeting  at  the  latter  place,  Mr.  Campbell 
was  invited  to  preach  only  under  the  pressure  of  his  friends.  He  gave 
his  familiar  distinction  between  the  Law  and  the  Gospel,  the  Old  Dis- 
pensation and  the  New,  Moses  and  Christ  (Harb.  '48,  348).  Opposi- 
tion was  made  at  once.  The  sermon  was  made  a  pretext  for  a  heresy 
trial  the  next  year,  but  the  enemy  was  defeated  by  a  strong  majority. 
Mr.  Campbell  had  it  published  to  avoid  misrepresentation.  It  was  his 
first  pamphlet.  The  event  was  dramatic  in  its  effect  on  his  future. 
He  says  (Harb.  '46,  393)  :— 

"This  unfortunate  sermon  involved  me  in  a  seven  years'  war  with 
some  members  of  said  Association,  and  became  a  matter  of  much  de- 
bate. .  .  .  It  is  therefore  highly  probable  to  my  mind  that  but  for 
the  persecution  begun  on  the  alleged  heresy  of  this  sermon  whether  the 
present  reformation  had  ever  been  advocated  by  me." 


Alexander   Campbell.  101 

Next  came  the  Walker  Debate,  1820,  which  introduced  him  to  the 
Baptists  of  Ohio,  and  made  valuable  friends  in  the  Mahoning  Associa- 
tion, including  Adamson  Bentley  and  Sidney  Rigdon  (Harb.  '48,  522-3). 
From  this  time,  Mr.  Campbell  went  regularly  to  the  yearly  meeting  of 
this  association,  by  which  means  this  whole  body  was  brought  to  prac- 
tical acceptance  of  the  views  of  the  Reformers. 

Meanwhile  Thomas  Campbell  had  opened  an  academy  in  Pittsburg. 
He  found  there  Walter  Scott,  then  in  charge  of  the  Haldanean  church 
founded  by  George  Forrester.  Alexander  visited  the  city  often.  A 
lifelong  friendship  and  alliance  was  formed  between  the  future  leaders 
of  the  cause.  The  regular  Baptist  Church  at  Pittsburg  embraced  the 
Reformation,  and  Sidney  Rigdon  was  settled  as  pastor.  A  union  was 
soon  accomplished  between  the  churches  of  Scott  and  Rigdon.  Thus 
was  formed  the  third  church  of  the  Reformation  (Harb.  '48,  556). 
Samuel  Church  soon  united  with  this  congregation  and  became  its  min- 
ister. 

Meanwhile,  the  second  church  had  been  formed  by  strategem.  Af- 
ter the  Sermon  on  the  Law,  Mr.  Campbell  ceased  to  itinerate  so  exten- 
sively and  gave  himself  more  to  teaching  in  Buffalo  Seminary.  The 
opposition,  taking  advantage  of  this,  grew  rapidly.  In  1823  they  gath- 
ered all  their  forces  and  resolved  to  expel  him  from  the  Redstone  As- 
sociation. Mr.  Campbell  heard  of  the  plot  a  month  in  advance;  and 
as  he  was  announced  to  debate  with  Mr.  McCalla  in  October,  and  did 
not  wish  to  appear  as  excommunicated  by  his  own  religious  party,  he 
executed  a  flank  movement  on  his  enemies.  Accordingly,  in  quiet,  he 
had  twenty  members  dismissed  from  the  Brush  Run  Church ;  went  with 
them  and  formed  a  new  church  in  the  meeting  house  at  Wellsburg ;  sent 
messengers  to  the  Mahoning  Association  and  was  accepted  by  the  same ; 
and  when  called  up  by  his  former  Redstone  brethren,  demurely  in- 
formed them  that  he  was  outside  their  jurisdiction  (Harb.  '48,  553-6). 

This  year  1823  was  notable  in  other  respects.  Then  began  the 
publication  of  the  Christian  Baptist,  which  did  so  much  as  a  medium 
of  exchange  between  the  diverse  seekers  after  the  Ancient  Order.  Then 
also  occurred  the  McCalla  Debate,  which  introduced  Mr.  Campbell  to 
the  Baptists  of  Kentucky.  This  was  followed  by  a  series  of  tours  to 
this  State,  by  means  of  which  the  seeds  of  the  Reformation  were  sown 
broadcast.  The  Christian  Baptist  did  valuable  service  in  this  work 
(Harb.  '48,  613-6).  Soon  after  this,  Philip  S.  Fall,  late  from  England, 
was  settled  as  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Louisville.  He  openly 
espoused  the  Reformation,  and  under  his  guidance  the  church  replaced 
its  creed  with  the  New  Testament.     He  soon  moved  to  Nashville,  and 


1Q2  The  Rise  op  the  Current*  Reformation. 

there  repeated  the  process.  Thus  were  added  the  fourth  and  fifth 
churches. 

The  order  of  Reformation  now  became  so  rapid  that  we  can  not 
follow  it  in  detail.  This  was  generally  accomplished  by  voting  out  the 
Philadelphia  Confession  of  Faith,  and  by  taking  the  Bible  as  the  sole 
standard. 

In  this  period,  the  principles  of  the  movement  were  applied  to  the 
subject  of  the  Design  of  Baptism  (Harb.  '48,  614).  Mr.  Scott  here 
did  valiant  service  in  his  use  of  this  doctrine  in  his  evangelistic  work 

(Harb. '49,48). 

This  work  was  the  next  great  factor  in  the  progress  of  the  move- 
ment. Having  been  commissioned  by  the  Mahoning  Association  in 
1827  and  filled  with  great  enthusiasm  for  the  cause,  Scott  flashed  as  a 
meteor  throughout  the  Western  Reserve.  He  first  brought  in  numbers 
and  convinced  the  Reformers  that  something  could  be  done  in  the  way 
of  a  popular  movement. 

Meanwhile  the  conflict  in  the  Redstone  Association  came  to  a  cri- 
sis. Several  churches  of  this  Association,  under  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Campbell,  had  grown  to  prize  their  creeds  less  and  their  Bibles  more. 
There  was,  however,  an  article  in  the  old  constitution  of  the  Associ- 
ation which  required  that  the  churches  in  writing  their  letters  should 
refer  to  the  Philadelphia  Confession  of  Faith  (C.  B.  276).  This  con- 
stitution had  been  a  dead  letter  of  late  years,  but  in  1826  it  was  revived 
by  the  enemies  of  Mr.  Campbell,  who  came  early  on  the  ground,  organ- 
ized the  association  with  the  ten  churches  which  they  controlled,  and 
then,  when  the  letters  from  the  other  fourteen  churches  were  presented, 
handed  them  back  as  unconstitutional  because  they  did  not  conform  to 
the  article  above-stated.  In  this  way  they  captured  the  association,  and 
proceeded  immediately  to  excommunicate  the  nonconforming  churches 
for  whatever  heresies  they  pleased  to  trump  up.  Elders  Henry  Spears 
and  Matthias  Luce,  who  had  grown  gray  in  the  Baptist  cause,  were 
caught  in  the  slaughter  (C.  B.  276).  When  the  members  of  the  ex- 
cluded churches  saw  it  was  no  use  to  protest,  they  met  at  a  house  near, 
heard  a  discourse  from  Mr.  Campbell,  who  was  present  as  a  fraternal 
delegate  of  the  Mahoning  Association,  resolved  to  go  home,  report 
progress  and  to  return  the  next  month  to  Washington  in  order  to  form 
a  new  Association.  This  was  done.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  in  the 
constitution  of  this,  the  Washington  Association,  no  mention  was  made 
of  the  Philadelphia  Confession  of  Faith ;  but  instead  the  following  arti- 
cle was  inserted :  "We  receive  the  Scriptures  as  the  only  rule  of  faith 
and  practice  to  all  the  churches  of  Christ"  (Rich.  Mem.  II,  166).     This 


The  Reformers.  103 

model  was  followed  by  the  congregations  in  turn,  and  thus  fourteen 
more  churches    were  added  to  the  Reformation, 

Meanwhile,  the  opposite  course  was  being  worked  out  in  the  Ma- 
honing Association.  There  Walter  Scott  had  been  received  cordially, 
and  was  supported  by  practically  the  entire  membership.  This  whole 
association  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Reformers, — four  small  congrega- 
tions withdrawing.     Thus  a  great  force  was  gained  to  the  movement. 

Likewise,  divisions  occurred  in  the  associations  of  Kentucky  and 
Virginia.  In  both  States  the  Reformers  gained  many  of  the  largest 
churches  and  most  respected  ministers,  including  Jacob  Creath,  Sr.,  D, 
S.  Burnett  and  Raccoon  John  Smith. 

The  war  was  now  carried  into  local  churches.  The  four  churches 
which  withdrew  from  the  Mahoning  Association  formed  themselves,  to- 
gether with  some  scattered  churches  north  of  Pittsburg,  into  the  Beaver 
Association  (C.  B.  659).  This  association  issued  a  circular  anathema- 
tizing the  Mahoning  Association  and  Mr.  Campbell  for  "damnable  here- 
sies." Mr.  Campbell  attacked  this  anathema  as  false  and  slanderous, 
but  it  was  copied  by  Baptist  papers  over  the  country  and  the  work  of 
exclusion  began  (C.  B.  original  vol.  VII,  183-4;  Harb.  '30,  174-7). 
The  Appomattox  and  Dover  Decrees  were  important  documents  of  this 
war  (See  Gates'  Revelation  and  Separation,  chapter  on  "Separation"). 
Mr.  Campbell  saw  that  he  could  not  prevent  the  storm,  and  bowed  before 
it.  He  remained  calm  and .  undisturbed  at  home,  and  gave  what  com- 
fort he  could  to  his  followers  through  his  magazines.  He  reviewed  the 
whole  period  in  two  articles  entitled  "Reformers,  not  Schismatics" 
(Harb.  '37,  145-51,  193-9),  in  which  he  maintained  that  he  and  his 
friends  were  the  "separated  rather  than  separatists ;"  that  in  no  instance 
had  a  majority  of  Reformers  ever  cast  out  a  minority  of  Baptists,  but 
that  the  opposite  had  often  happened  (Harb.  '37,  149).  This  schism 
occurred  within  the  years  1830-3.  That  which  the  Reformers  had  been 
trying  to  avoid  for  twenty  years,  viz.,  the  forming  of  a  separate  relig- 
ious party,  was  forced  upon  them.  Under  the  sting  of  the  treatment 
received  from  Baptist  Associations,  and  finding  no  precedent  for  such 
organizations  in  the  Scriptures,  they  disbanded  the  Mahoning,  Wash- 
ington, Stillwater  and  other  associations  and  became  merely  independent 
churches.  This  they  remained  until  the  organization  of  missionary  so- 
cieties. State  and  national,  in  the  years  1845-50.  Thus  the  union  with 
the  Baptists  had  proved  to  be  of  doubtful  expediency,  and  had  been 
fraught  with  endless  turmoil.  Mr.  Campbell  clung  to  it,  however,  with 
stubborn  tenacity,  and  had  gained  thereby  an  audience  as  large  as  the 
nation,  and  a  following  which  when  cast  forth  was  able  to  begin  with 


^^04  The  Rise  o^  the  Cxjrrent  Reformation. 

a  ministry,  churches,  members  and  organs  of  publications  so  as  to  com- 
mand attention  and  respect  from  the  beginning  (Harb.  '37,  150). 

The    Christians. 

We  shall  pass  over  this  branch  of  the  Current  Reformation  with 
only  the  briefest  sketch;  not  that  it  is  less  important  than  the  others, 
but  that  our  search  is  for  the  rise  of  doctrines  and  principles.  This 
branch  brought  in  numbers  and  the  evangelistic  spirit.  It  has  little  sig- 
nificance on  the  doctrinal  side. 

The  "Christians"  or  "Christidn  Connection,"  as  they  were  often 
called,  were  themselves  a  composite  people.  They  arose  out  of  the  re- 
ligious conditions  of  America  immediately  succeeding  the  Revolutionary 
War.  In  the  Carolinas,  James  O'Kelly  led  a  party  of  Methodists  who 
refused  to  submit  to  the  episcopacy  of  Thomas  Coke  and  Francis  Asbury 
and  were  called  at  first  "Republican  Methodists,"  but  later  repudiated 
that  name  for  the  simple  title  "Christians"  (Rich.  Mem.  II,  185).  Like- 
wise, m  New  England,  Abner  Jones  and  Elias  Smith  led  out  parties  of 
Baptists  who  assumed  the  same  name  (Ibid.  II,  186).  But  most  impor- 
tant is  the  group  of  "Christians"  gathered  around  Barton  W.  Stone, 
formerly  a  Presbyterian  minister  of  Kentucky.  In  the  West  these  par- 
ties, coming  out  of  three  leading  denominations,  found  themselves  to 
be  in  practical  agreement  as  to  their  views,  and  so  coalesced  under  the 
title  "Christian  Connection"  (Ibid  II,  198).  Here  also  they  met  the 
reformation  led  by  Alexander  Campbell,  and  took  relation  pro  or  con 
to  this  movement. 

This  relation  concerns  itself  especially  with  Barton  W.  Stone, 
whose  life  and  work  we  shall  sketch  in  brief : 

Barton  Warren  Stone  was  born  in  Maryland,  1772.  He  attended 
school  at  Guilford  C.  H.,  N.  C,  where  he  was  converted  under  the 
preaching  of  James  McGready.  He  soon  became  a  candidate  for  the 
ministry  under  the  Orange  Presbytery,  but  fell  into  doubt  on  the  doc- 
trines of  Election  and  Reprobation  and  of  the  Trinity;  he  went  for  a 
time  to  Georgia  where  he  taught  the  classical  languages,  but  later  re- 
turned and  took  up  his  life  work.  He  soon  migrated  to  Kentucky,  where 
he  was  settled  with  the  Presbyterian  churches  at  Cane  Ridge  and  Con- 
cord. Here  he  was  when  the  evangelistic  wave  swept  over  the  country 
in  1801-2.  Mr.  Stone  entered  heartily  into  the  revival.  With  his 
churches  occurred  one  of  those  great  pioneer  camp-meetings,  at  which 
25,000  people  were  estimated  to  have  been  in  attendance ;  nearly  a  thou- 
sand persons  were  converted,  and  the  jerks  and  other  enthusiastic  phe- 
nomena which  had  accompanied  the  preaching  of  Whitefield  were  mani- 
*fold.     Mr.  Stone  says  of  this  meeting  (Chr.  Mess.  I,  yy) : — 


The  Christians.  105 

"The  doctrine  preached  by  all  was  simple,  and  nearly  the  i:ame. 
Free  and  full  salvation  to  every  creature  was  proclaimed.  All  urged 
faith  in  the  gospel,  and  obedience  to  it,  as  the  way  of  life.  All  ap- 
peared deeply  impressed  with  the  ruined  state  of  sinners,  and  were  anx- 
ious for  their  salvation.  The  spirit  of  partyism,  and  party  distinctions, 
were  apparently  forgotten.  The  doctrines  of  former  controversy  were 
not  named;  no  mention  was  made  of  eternal,  unconditional  election,  rep- 
robation or  fatality.  The  spirit  of  love,  peace  and  union  were  revived. 
You  might  have  seen  the  various  sects  engaged  in  the  same  spirit,  pray- 
ing, praising  and  communing  together,  and  the  preachers  in  the  lead. 
Happy  days!  joyful  seasons  of  refreshment  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord!  This  work  from  this  period  spread  throughout  the  western 
country." 

But  this  was  a  state  of  affairs  the  sects  of  the  time  were  illy  pre- 
pared for.  Consequently,  some  of  Mr.  Stone's  fellow-ministers  op- 
posed the  work  and  doctrines  of  the  revival ;  took  up  the  slogan  for  the 
dogmas  of  Calvinism  which  brought  on  a  war  with  the  other  sects ;  and 
finally,  Richard  McNemar,  one  of  the  preachers,  was  held  for  trial  be- 
fore his  presbytery  on  the  charge  of  Arminianism  (Ibid.  I,  78).  It 
was  a  test  case,  was  taken  up  by  all  the  friends  of  the  revival  and  re- 
sulted in  the  withdrawal  of  five  ministers  (Stone  one  of  the  number) 
and  the  formation  of  the  Springfield  Presbytery  (Ibid.  I,  104).  These 
seceders  were  formally  suspended  from  the  ministry  and  deposed  from 
their  churches ;  but,  like  Thomas  Campbell,  continued  in  their  functions 
as  ministers  and  gathered  around  them  a  considerable  party.  But  they 
had  now  to  answer  the  reproach  of  forming  a  new  sect,  which  was  con- 
trary to  their  purpose  (Ibid.  I,  241),  and  so  in  1804  they  published  the 
"Last  Will  and  Testament  of  the  Springfield  Presbytery"  and  disbanded 
(See  Mem.  of  Stone  51 ;  Chr.  Mess.  I,  241 ;  Young's  Hist.  Doc.  19-26). 
This  interesting  document  reads  as  follows  (Young,  20)  : — 

"We  will  that  this  body  die,  be  dissolved  and  sink  into  union  with 
the  Body  of  Christ  at  large ;  for  there  is  but  one  Body,  and  one  Spirit, 
even  as  we  are  called  in  one  hope  of  our  calling. 

"We  will  that  our  name  of  distinction,  with  its  Reverend  title,  be 
forgotten,  that  there  be  but  one  Lord  over  God's  heritage,  and  his 
name  One. 

"We  will  that  our  power  of  making  laws  for  the  government  of  the 
church,  and  executing  them  by  delegated  authority,  forever  cease ;  that 
the  people  may  have  free  course  to  the  Bible,  and  adopt  the  law  of  the 
Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus." 
and  continues  (Ibid.  21-2) : — 

"We  will  that  the  people  henceforth  take  the  Bible  as  the  only  sure 
guide  to  heaven ;  and  as  many  as  are  offended  with  other  books,  which 
stand  in  competition  with  it,  may  cast  them  into  the  fire  if  they  choose ; 


106  The  Rise  op  the  Current  Reformation. 

for  it  is  better  to  enter  into  life  having  one  book,  than  having  many  to 
be  cast  into  hell." 

From  henceforth  they  called  themselves  "Christians"  only. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Stone  again  fell  into  doubt  on  the  doctrine  of 
the  Atonement,  as  taught  in  the  orthodox  systems  of  the  time.  He  did 
not  find  it  in  the  Bible,  nor  did  it  harmonize  with  his  belief  that  "God 
is  Love,  and  Christ  died  for  all."  He  accordingly  gave  it  up  (Chr. 
Mess.  I,  243-5).  Soon,  too,  millenarian  ideas  began  to  run  riot  in  the 
revival  communities,  which  were  brought  to  a  crisis  by  the  arrival  of 
some  Shaker  missionaries  from  New  York.  These,  with  their  doctrine 
of  "perfection  in  holiness,"  carried  off  McNemar  and  other  leaders  and 
decimated  their  ranks  (Ibid.  I,  263-4).  Stone,  however,  stood  firm  on 
his  original  ground,  and  in  the  reading  of  his  Bible  saw  that  "immer- 
sion was  the  apostolic  mode  of  baptism  and  that  believers  were  the  only 
proper  subjects  of  it."  At  a  conference  of  leaders,  it  was  agreed  that 
each  individual  act  according  to  his  own  belief  in  this  matter,  by  which 
rule  the  greater  part  of  their  number  were  baptized.  Writing  in  1827, 
Mr.  Stone  said :  "Now  there  is  not  one  in  five  hundred  among  us  who 
has  not  been  immersed."  (Ibid.  I,  267).  Other  divisions  came;  but 
in  spite  of  all  the  Christians  grew  rapidly,  and  soon  became  an  impor- 
tant people  on  the  Western  frontier. 

In  1824,  Stone  met  Alexander  Campbell,  then  touring  In  Kentucky. 
They  found  their  views  in  harmony  in  all  essentials,  although  with 
marked  theological  differences.  The  acquaintance  ripened  into  warm 
personal  friendship ;  so  that  as  the  years  went  by  the  leaders  of  the  two 
independent  movements,  as  well  as  their  followings,  began  to  co-oper- 
ate and  approach  each  other.  After  the  Reformers  were  cast  out  from 
the  Baptists,  a  formal  union  was  decided  upon.  John  Smith,  on  the 
part  of  Campbell,  and  John  Rogers,  on  that  of  Stone,  went  throughout 
Kentucky,  gathered  the  Reformers  and  Christians  together  and  organ- 
ized them  into  single  congregations.  This  work  was  accomplished  in 
the  years  1832-5,  and  remains  as  the  most  splendid  illustration  of  the 
principle  of  Christian  union  in  the  history  of  the  Current  Reformation. 
In  Ohio  and  the  northwest,  the  union  did  not  succeed;  and  in  those 
States,  the  Christian  Connection  are  yet  a  separate  people. 

The  contribution  of  Stone  and  his  friends  was  the  evangelistic  en- 
thusiasm to  which  is  due  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ. 
Richardson  well  states  this  contribution  in  contrast  to  the  work  of  the 
Reformers  (Rich.  Mem.  II,  198-9)  :— 

"While  the  features  of  this  organization  were  thus,  in  a  good  meas- 
ure, similar  to  those  of  the  reformation  in  which  Mr,  Campbell  was  en~ 


UNIVERSITY    jj 

107 

gaged,  there  were  some  characteristic  differences.  With  the  former, 
the  idea  of  uniting  all  men  under  Christ  was  predominant ;  with  the  lat- 
ter, the  desire  of  an  exact  conformity  to  the  primitive  faith  and  practice. 
The  one  occupied  itself  chiefly  in  casting  abroad  the  sweep-net  of  the 
Gospel,  which  gathers  fishes  of  every  kind;  the  other  was  more  mtent 
upon  collecting  ''the  good  into  vessels"  and  casting  "the  bad  away." 
Hence,  the  former  engaged  mainly  in  preaching,  the  latter  in  teaching. 
The  revivalist  machinery  of  protracted  meetings,  warm  exhortation, 
personal  entreaty,  earnest  prayers  for  conversion  and  union,  accompa- 
nied by  a  belief  in  special  spiritual  operations  and  the  use  of  the  mourn- 
er's seat,  existed  with  the  one,  while  with  the  other  the  chief  matters  of 
interest  were  the  disentanglement  of  the  Christian  faith  from  modern 
corruptions  of  it  and  the  recovery  of  the  Gospel  ordinances  and  ancient 
order  of  things.  There  had  been  an  almost  entire  neglect  of  evangeliz- 
ation on  the  part  of  its  few  churches  which  were  originally  connected 
with  Mr.  Campbell  in  his  reformatory  efforts.  They  had  not  a  single 
itinerant  preacher,  and  though  they  made  great  progress  in  biblical 
knowledge,  they  gained  comparatively  few  converts.  The  churches  of 
the  Christian  Connection,  on  the  other  hand,  less  inimical  to  speculative 
theories,  granted  membership  to  the  unimmersed  and  free  communion 
to  all,  and  imperfectly  acquainted  with  the  order,  discipline  and  institu- 
tions of  the  churches,  made  through  an  efficient  itineracy  large  acces- 
sions everywhere  and  increased  with  surprising  rapidity.  They  were 
characterized  by  a  simplicity  of  belief  and  manners  and  a  liberality  of 
spirit  highly  captivating,  and  possessed,  in  general,  a  striking  and 
praiseworthy  readiness  to  receive  additional  light  from  the  Bible.  They 
gained  over,  consequently,  from  the  religious  community  many  of  the 
pious  and  peaceloving,  who  groaned  under  the  evils  of  sectarianism, 
while  the  earnest  exhortations  of  zealous  preachers  and  their  direct  per- 
sonal appeal  to  sinners  obtained  large  accessions  from  the  world." 

CONCLUSION. 

1 .  Thus  we  believe  that  we  have  fairly  maintained  our  thesis — that 
the  Current  Reformation  arose  from  many  independent  sources  as  a 
providence  of  God;  that  these  independent  movements  progressivelv 
approached  each  other,  under  the]  application  of  common  principles ; 
that  this  process  was  greatly  accelerated  through  mutual  recognition, 
by  means  of  circular  letters,  central  publications  and  personal  messen- 
gers ;  that  union  has  been  time  and  again  accomplished  by  formal  agree- 
ment and  coalition  of  forces.  The  acme  of  this  process  was  reached  in 
the  organization  of  the  American  Christian  Missionary  Society,  under 
the  leadership  of  D.  S.  Burnett,  in  1849.  This  became  the  mother  of  all 
our  societies;  which,  while  constituted  merely  for  co-operative  work, 
have  become  the  bonds  of  the  closest  fellowship,  and  through  the  great 
conventions  of  the  last  decade  are  exercising  a  most  marvelous  unifying 
influence  on  the  disparate  factors  and  separate  sections  of  our  brother- 


108  ^HE  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

hood.  Much  yet  remains  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  reaHzing  both  the 
ideals  of  the  fathers  and  the  purpose  of  God  in  this  people ;  but  the  his- 
tory of  the  past  becomes  the  best  lesson  for  the  future.  How  shall  the 
Lord's  Prayer  be  realized?  How  shall  God's  people  become  one?  As 
they  have  become  one  in  the  past — on  the  basis  of  the  Bible  in  hope  and 
prayer  and  work  for  the  union  of  all  Christians — let  us  expect  that  this 
''consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished"  shall  extend  beyond  its  present 
borders,  and  let  us  place  ourselves  as  clay  in  the  Divine  Potter's  hands, 
responsive  and  resolute  for  the  accomplishment  of  His  will. 

2.  Here  is  evident  the  diverse  names  by  which  the  representatives 
of  the  Current  Reformation  have  been  called.  The  English  Brethren 
were  called  the  Church  of  Christ.  In  New  York  and  the  Northeast,  this 
term  was  applied  to  the  congregation,  while  the  people  were  called  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  or  Disciples.  The  early  followers  of  the  Campbells 
were  called  the  "Reformers."  The  followers  of  Stone  were  called 
"Christians."  When  the  union  was  made,  it  was  thought  to  be  unnec- 
essary to  agree  upon  a  uniform  name.  Hence  in  each  section  the  old  ti- 
tles continued.  In  the  years  1839-40,  a  warm  controversy  arose  on  the 
subject  of  the  proper  name.  Walter  Scott  had  taken  the  side  of  Stone, 
and  championed  the  exclusive  rights  of  the  term  "Christian"  (Life  of  J. 
Smith,  541-5).  Mr.  Campbell  answered  in  the  Harbinger  in  a  series  of 
able  articles  on  "Our  Name"  (Harb.  '39  and  '40).  He  preferred  the 
designation  "Disciples  of  Christ,"  but  defended  the  right  to  the  use  of 
any  Scriptural  name.  There  the  matter  finally  rested,  so  that  in  the 
North  and  East  "Disciples  of  Christ"  and  "Church  of  Christ"  have  be- 
come the  dominant  terms;  while  in  the  South  and  West  "Christians" 
and  "Christian  Churches"  have  gained  the  ascendency. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
Thi;  Principi^ds. 

Like  the  Protestant  Reformation  which  went  before  and  furnished 
both  motive  and  model  for  its  successor  (See  p.  24),  the  Current 
Reformation  was  carried  out  on  definite  principles.  The  historic  rise 
of  these  has  been  given  in  the  preceding  chapters.  We  have  left  over 
only  the  task  of  constructive  statement. 

But  this  task  has  been  performed  for  us  by  Air.  Campbell  himself. 
Early  in  the  Christian  Baptist,  he  began  a  series  of  articles  on  a  Resto- 
ration of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Things  (C.  B.  126,  133,  139,  etc.).  The 
text  of  this  remarkable  treatise  was  the  Lord's  High-priestly  Prayer 
(John  17:20-1),  (C.  B.  135): 

"Holy  Father, — now,  I  do  not  pray  for  these  only  (for  the  unity 
and  success  of  the  apostles)  but  for  those  also  who  shall  believe  on  me 
through  or  by  means  of  their  word — that  they  all  may  be  one — that 
the  world  may  believe  that  you  have  sent  me."  Who  does  not  see  in 
this  petition  that  the  words  or  testimony  of  the  apostles,  the  unity  of 
the  disciples  and  the  conviction  of  the  world  are  bound  together  by 
the  wisdom  and  the  love  of  the  Father,  by  the  devotion  and  philanthropy 
of  the  Son.  The  order  of  heaven,  the  plan  of  the  Great  King,  his 
throne  and  government,  are  here  unfolded  in  full  splendor  to  our  view. 
The  words  of  the  apostles  are  laid  as  the  basis,  the  unity  of  the  disci- 
ples, the  glorious  result,  and  the  only  successful  means  of  converting 
the  world  to  the  acknowledgment  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  ^Messiah 
or  the  Son  of  the  Blessed,  the  only  Saviour  of  men." 

The  same  was  stated  on  the  same  authority  in  the  essay  on  the 
Foundation  of  Christian  Union,  incorporated  in  the  volume  called 
"Christianity  Restored."  (1835),  later  issued  as  the  Christian  System 
(Chr.  Sys.  114): 

"Nothing  is  essential  to  the  conversion  of  the  world  hut  the  union 
and  co-operation  of  Christians. 

^'Nothing  is  essential  to  the  nnion  of  Christians  but  the  Apostles' 
teaching  or  testimony. 

"Or  does  he  choose  to  express  the  plan  of  the  Self-Existent  in 
other  words?    Then  he  may  change  the  order,  and  say: — 

"The  testimony  of  the  Apostles  is  the  only  and  all-su-fficient  means 
of  uniting  all  Christians. 

"The  union  of  Christians  zvith  the  Apostles'  testimony  is  all' 
sufficient  and  alone  sufficient  *o  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

109 


IIQ  The  Rise  oe  'tut  Current  Reformation. 

''Neither  truth  alone  nor  union  alone  is  sufficient  to  subdue  the 
unbelieving  nations,  but  truth  and  union  combined  are  omnipotent. 
They  are  omnipotent,  for  God  is  in  them  and  with  them,  and  has  con- 
secrated and  blessed  them  for  this  very  purpose. 

''These  two  propositions  have  been  stated,  illustrated,  developed 
(and  shall  I  say  proved?)  in  the  'Christian  Baptist'  and  'Millennial 
Harbinger,'   to  the  conviction  of  thousands." 

It  is  reiterated  in  the  preface  to  this  volume,  in  a  review  of  the 
course  of  Protestantism  (Chr.  Sys.  5) : — 

"Since  that  time,  the  first  effort  known  to  us  to  abandon  the  whole 
controversy  about  creeds  and  reformations,  and  to  restore  primitive 
Christianity,  or  to  build  alone  upon  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  Jesus 
Christ  himself  the  chief  corner,  has  been  made. 

"Tired  of  new  creeds  and  new  parties  in  religion,  and  of  the  numer- 
ous abortive  efforts  to  reform  the  reformation;  convinced  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  from  observation  and  experience,  that  the  union  of 
the  Disciples  of  Christ  is  essential  to  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and 
that  the  correction  and  improvement  of  no  creed  or  partisan  establish- 
ment in  Christendom  could  ever  become  the  basis  of  such  a  union,  com- 
munion and  co-operation,  as  would  restore  peace  to  a  church  militant 
against  itself,  or  triumph  to  the  common  salvation ;  a  few  individuals, 
about  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  began  to  reflect  upon 
the  ways  and  means  to  restore  primitive  Christianity." 

This  book  was  compiled  by  Mr.  Campbell  from  his  previous  writ- 
ings, in  answer  to  the  demand  of  his  followers  to  have  a  concise  state- 
ment of  their  leading  positions,  especially  that  they  may  ward  off  the 
objections  of  their  opponents.  Mr.  Campbell,  too,  saw  that  the 
Reformation  was  in  danger  of  drifting  into  a  great  variety  of  propa- 
ganda and  did  not  hesitate  to  give  it  direction  from  his  clearer  insight. 
He  says  (Chr.  Sys.  8)  :— 

"The  object  of  this  volume  is  to  place  before  the  community  in  a 
plain,  definite  and  perspicuous  style  the  capital  principles  which  have 
been  elicited,  argued  out,  developed  and  sustained  in  a  controversy  of 
twenty-five  years,  by  the  tongues  and  pens  of  those  who  rallied  under 
the  banners  of  the  Bible  alone. 

"We  flatter  ourselves  that  the  principles  are  now  clearly  and  fully 
developed  by  the  united  efforts  of  a  few  devoted  and  ardent  minds,  who 
set  out  determined  to  sacrifice  everything  to  truth  and  follow  her  wher- 
ever she  might  lead  the  way ;  I  say,  the  principles  on  which  the  church 
of  Jesus  Christ — all  believers  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah — can  be  united 
with  honor  to  themselves  and  with  blessings  to  the  world;  on  which 
the  gospel  and  its  ordinances  can  be  restored  in  all  their  primitive  sim- 
plicity, excellency  and  power,  and  the  church  shine  as  a  lamp  that 
burneth  to  the  conviction  and  salvation  of  the  world : — I  say,  the  prin- 
ciples by  which  these  things  can  be  done  are  now  developed,  as  well 
as  the  principles  themselves,  which  together  constitute  the  original 
gospel  and  order  of  things  established  by  the  Apostles." 


The  Principi.es.  HI 

Thus,  these  principles  are  threefold: — 

1.  Conversion  of  the  World. 

2.  Union  of  All  Christians. 

3.  Restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity. 

These  principles  constituted  the  aim  of  the  Current  Reformation, 
are  the  basis  of  the  Plea  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  and  around  them 
may  be  written  the  history  of  this  interesting  people.  They  were 
worked  out  in  a  long  and  painful  process  in  conflict  with  the  religious 
establishments  of  the  time.  They  found  Biblical  sanction  in  the  final 
prayer  of  Jesus,  and  are  worthy  of  our  consideration  in  every  way  as 
the  statement  of  a  highminded  programme. 

The  relations  of  the  principles  to  one  another  is  evident  in  their 
conjunction : — 

I.  The  Conversion  of  the  World  is  the  ultimate  principle.  It  is 
the  final  purpose  in  the  Lord's  prayer  "that  the  world  may  believe  that 
Thou  didst  send  me."  It  was  the  historic  spring  of  the  Current 
Reformation.  This  movement  arose  out  of,  and  was  the  successor  to, 
the  great  religious  awakening  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  in  its  twofold 
phase  of  evangelism  and  missionary  work.  Jonathan  Edwards,  John 
Wesley,  George  Whitefield,  William  Carey,  Andrew  Fuller,  Robert 
Haldane,  B.  W.  Stone,  Thomas  Campbell  and  Walter  Scott  were  mem- 
bers of  a  common  movement.  They  were  closely  akin  in  spirit,  and 
bear  the  relation  of  earlier  and  later  manifestations  of  the  same  religious 
impulse.  Alexander  Campbell  was  influenced  least  of  all  by  the  Great 
Awakening;  and  as  the  teacher  of  the  Reformation,  in  his  attempt  to 
inculcate  a  rational  view  of  Christianity,  he  often  felt  called  upon  to 
oppose  the  excesses  of  the  revival  (See  p.  69).  But  he  never  ceased 
the  advocacy  of  the  largest  and  widest  extension  of  missions  and  evan- 
gelism as  the  final  goal  of  Christian  activity.  This  is  most  aptly  illus- 
trated in  his  famous  attitude  to  missionary  societies.  Mr.  Campbell 
opposed  these  because  he  believed  them  to  be  the  bulwarks  of  sec- 
tarianism, because  he  believed  their  efforts  were  futile  and  their  methods 
contrary  to  the  divine  plan.  He  attacked  them  as  the  "good"  which 
was  the  "enemy  of  the  best."    As  he  says  (C.  B.  135)  : — 

"But  the  conversion  of  the  world  is  planned  and  ordered  by  the 
will  of  heaven  to  be  dependent  upon  the  unity  of  the  disciples  as 
well  as  this  unity  dependent  upon  the  apostle's  testimony.  An 
attempt  to  convert  Pagans  and  Mahometans  to  believe  that  Jesus  is  the 
Son  of  God,  and  the  sent  of  the  Father,  until  Christians  are  united,  is 
also  an  attempt  to  frustrate  the  prayer  of  the  Messiah,  to  subvert  his 
throne  and  government.  *  There  are  unalterable  laws  in  the  moral  world, 
as  in  the  natural.    There  are  also  unalterable  laws  in  the  government 


112  Tut  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

of  the  moral  and  religious  world,  as  in  the  government  of  the  natural. 
Those  laws  cannot,  by  human  interference,  be  set  aside  or  frustrated — 
we  might  as  reasonably  expect  that  Indian  corn  will  grow  in  the  open 
fields  in  the  midst  of  the  frost  and  snows  of  winter,  as  that  Pagan 
nations  can  be  converted  to  Jesus  Christ,  till  Christians  are  united 
through  the  belief  of  the  apostle's  testimony.  We  may  force  corn  to 
grow  by  artificial  means  in  the  depth  of  winter,  but  it  is  not  like  the 
corn  of  August.  So  may  a  few  disciples  be  made  in  Pagan  lands  by 
such  means  in  the  moral  empire;  as  those  by  which  corn  is  made  to 
grow  in  winter  in  the  natural  empire,  but  they  are  not  like  the  disciples 
of  primitive  times,  before  sectarian  creeds  came  into  being.  It  is 
enough  to  say,  on  this  topic,  that  the  Saviour  made  the  unity  of  the 
disciples  essential  to  the  conviction  of  the  world ;  and  he  that  attempts 
it  independent  of  this  essential,  sets  himself  against  the  wisdom  and 
|)lans  of  heaven,  and  aims  at  overruling  the  dominion  and  government 
of  the.  Great  King." 

Over  against  this  improper  method  he  presents  what  he  held  to  be 
the  proper  one  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  (C.  B.  i6) : — 

''The  association,  called  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  in  propria 
forma,  the  only  institution  of  God  left  on  earth  to  illuminate  and  xeform 
the  world.  That  is,  to  speak  in  the  most  definitive  and  intelligible  man- 
ner, a  society  of  men  and  women,  having  in  their  hands  the  oracles  of 
God;  believing  in  their  hearts  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ;  confessing 
the  truth  of  Christ  with  their  lips ;  exhibiting  in  their  lives  the  morality 
of  the  Gospel,  and  walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of 
the  Lord,  blamelessly,  in  the  sight  of  all  men.  When  spiritual  men,  i.  e., 
men  having  spiritual  gifts,  or,  as  now  termed,  miraculous  gifts,  wqvq 
withdrawn,  this  institution  was  left  on  earth,  as  the  grand  scheme  of 
Heaven,  to  enlighten  and  reform  the  world. 

"If,  in  the  present  day,  and  amongst  all  those  who  talk  so  much 
of  a  missionary  spirit,  there  could  be  found  such  a  society,  though  it 
were  composed  of  but  twenty,  willing  to  emigrate  to  some  heathen  land, 
where  they  would  support  themselves  like  the  natives,  wear  the  same 
garb,  adopt  the  country  as  their  own,  and  profess  nothing  like  a  miis- 
sionary  project;  should  such  a  society  sit  down  and  hold  forth  in  word 
and  deed  the  saving  truth,  not  deriding  the  gods  nor  the  religion  of  the 
natives,  but  allowing  their  own  works  and  example  to  speak  for  their 
religion,  and  practicing  as  above  hinted;  we  are  persuaded  that,  in 
process  of  time,  a  more  solid  foundation  for  the  conversion  of  the 
natives  would  be  laid,  and  more  actual  success  resulting,  than  from  all 
the  missionaries   employed  for  twenty-five   years." 

I  am  sure  that  most  of  us  feel  that  Mr.  Campbell  was  mistaken  in 
this  view ;  that  it  will  not  do  to  get  the  work  of  uniting  and  reforming 
all  done  before  that  of  missions  begins,  that  the  burden  of  support  and 
responsibility  should  by  no  means  rest  on  the  devoted  few  who  are 
willing  to  go.    But  we  have  no  right  to  impugn  the  missionary  motives 


Thk  Principi^s.  113 

of  Alexander  Campbell.  His  reliance  was  on  the  proclamation  of  the 
truth,  not  on  organization.  He  gave  his  support  heartily  to  the  work 
of  the  Bible  societies.  He  preached  everywhere  without  compensation. 
He  devoted  himself  continually  to  the  most  arduous  service,  for  which 
he  could  have  had  no  other  motive  than  the  constraining  love  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  the  desire  to  carry  out  his  great  commission. 

Thus  the  missionary  motive  has  ever  been  dominant  among  the 
Disciples  of  Christ.  Their  Foreign  Society  is  the  most  successful  of 
their  organizations.  Continuous  evangelism  has  marked  their  progress 
from  Barton  W.  Stone  and  Walter  Scott  to  the  present  day.  This,  far 
more  than  superior  methods  or  a  superior  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
accounts  for  the  marvelous  increase  in  numbers  of  this  people.  Every 
sermon  must  close  with  an  exhortation  and  be  followed  by  an  invita- 
tion. It  must  be  practical ;  it  must  move.  Nothing  is  good  which  will 
not  help  to  convert  the  world.  Every  preacher  and  every  church  must 
get  results,  or  they  are  considered  to  encumber  the  ground.  The  prac- 
tical test  of  the  truth  is  the  final  criterion.  Every  shade  of  opinion  is 
tolerated,  unless  it  destroys  the  usefulness  of  its  holder.  No  time  is  lost 
in  abstract  and  speculative  questions.  All  this  is  no  accident,  no  mere 
device  of  men,  however  wise  we  may  think  them  to  be,  but  alone  has 
its  rationale  far  back  in  an  intense  yearning  for  souls  which  has  been 
both  spring  and  stay  of  this  movement. 

2.  The  Union  of  all  Christians  is  the  material  principle.  It  is  the 
mediate  purpose  in  the  Lord's  prayer,  "that  they  may  all  be  one."  It  is 
the  means  to  the  end.  When  all  Christians  are  united,  we  believe  that 
we  can  work  effectively  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  It  was  the 
task,  the  problem  before  the  fathers  of  this  Reformation,  which  they 
were  trying  to  solve,  and  by  working  at  which  they  came  to  their  other 
ideas.    Thomas  Campbell  is  its  patron  saint. 

Like  all  the  principles,  this  had  its  anti-element.  Its  antithesis  is 
found  in  the  divided  state  of  Christendom  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century.  It  meant  to  be  corrective  of  sectarianism,  and  to 
heal  the  divisions  of  the  Church.  It  interpreted  the  Lord's  Prayer  not 
as  meaning  a  mere  unity  of  spirit  or  anything  else  which  palliated  the 
evils  of  schism  and  excused  the  existing  order.  "That  they  may  be 
one"  was  taken  to  mean  what  it  said, — "of  one  mind  and  accord;  of 
one  body,  the  Body  of  Christ."  It  meant  alliance  and  co-operation.  It 
was  the  motto  of  a  genuine  and  a  real  reform,  not  less  in  importance 
than  the  Reformation  of  the  Sixteenth  Century.  It  was  the  shibboleth 
of  a  Current  Reformation.  In  this  movement,  our  fathers  hoped  to 
destroy  all  sects  and  the  sect  spirit,  and  to  restore  into  one  the  church 
(8) 


114  'The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reeormation. 

as  it  was  in  the  Apostolic  Age.  This  is  well  understood  and  leads  us 
to  the  next. 

3.  The  Restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity  is  the  formal  prin- 
ciple. It  was  the  immediate  purpose  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  "Neither 
for  these  only  do  I  pray,  but  for  them  also  that  believe  on  me,  through 
their  word."  This  was  the  method  of  union.  It  presented  the  pro- 
gramme of  the  Reformation.  It  was  the  Plea  of  the  Reformers  to 
Christians  of  all  bodies.  It  was  the  work  of  preparation,  the  immediate 
task  and  duty  of  the  Disciples  until  the  day  of  the  Lord's  power,  seen 
in  the  massing  of  Christian  forces  and  the  advance  on  the  heathen 
world,  should  be  at  hand. 

But  it  must  be  carefully  inquired  into  as  to  what  is  meant  by  the 
Restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity.  A  restoration  of  some  sort  had 
been  implied  in  the  formal  principle  of  Protestantism,  viz.,  the  Authority 
of  the  Scriptures.  This  appeal  from  the  traditions  and  dogmas  of  the 
Church,  to  the  Bible,  and  Bible  alone,  as  the  religion  of  Protestants, 
called  back  to  a  life  of  faith  in  God's  Word  not  then  present  in  tht 
Catholic  practice.  But  certainly  Luther  and  his  associates,  in  incorpo- 
rating the  Greek  dogmas  and  formulating  creeds,  although  these  docu- 
ments were  meant  at  first  not  to  be  standards  of  faith  but  only  defences 
of  the  same,  were  not  consistent  with  this  position.  The  confessions 
of  faith,  although  drawn  from  the  Scriptures  and  meant  merely  to  be 
compendiums  of  them,  came  to  be  a  substitute  for  the  same.  Mapped 
out  by  the  human  eye  in  definite  historic  situations,  they  more  and  more 
tended  to  make  void  the  Word  of  God  by  their  traditions.  This  course 
went  on  until  the  standard  of  revolt  was  raised  and  a  new^  cry  was  made 
for  the  Restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity.  The  honor  of  primacy 
here  must  go  to  John  Glas,  who  attacked  the  Scottish  Covenants  in 
1725-30.  But  Glas,  Sandeman,  A.  McLean,  James  A.  Haldane,  Alex- 
ander Carson,  John  Walker,  Alexander  Campbell  and  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin were  one  movement, — a  revolt  against  ecclesiasticism  in  the  realms 
of  both  polity  and  theology. 

This  movement,  like  the  Great  Reformation  out  of  which  it  sprang, 
was  carried  on  as  a  strict  return  to  Scripture.  As  Mr.  Campbell  says, 
"the  Bible  alone  is  the  Bible  only,  in  word  and  deed,  in  profession  and 
practice"  (Chr.  Sys.  6). 

Hence,  the  Restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity  did  not  mean  a 
return  to  the  life  of  the  early  church  in  its  empiric  reality,  as  that  life 
itself  was  often  condemned  in  the  Scriptures  themselves,  as  in  Paul's 
letters  to  the  Corinthians.  On  the  other  hand,  it  meant  the  life  of  the 
primitive  church  in  its  ideal  phases,  in  conformance  with  the  commands 


The  Principles.  115 

of  Jesus  and  His  apostles,  in  precedents  mentioned  and  approved  b}- 
the  inspired  writers.    As  Mr.  Campbell  again  says  (C.  B.  128)  : — 

"To  bring  the  societies  of  Christians  up  to  the  New  Testament,  is 
just  to  bring  the  disciples  individually  and  collectively,  to  walk  in  the 
faith,  and  in  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour,  as  presented 
in  that  blessed  volume;  and  this  is  to  restore  the  ancient  order  of 
things." 

The  content  put  into  this  principle  was  quite  variant  with  its 
various  advocates.  The  followers  of  Glas  attempted  to  restore  New 
Testament  practices  with  casuistic  detail.  Mr.  Campbell  criticised  them 
for  missing  the  spirit  of  the  principle  and  bringing  the  movement  into 
reproach  (C.  B.  450,  658).  He  rejected  the  practices  of  the  holy  kiss, 
washing  of  feet,  etc.,  as  not  required  in  a  proper  understanding  of 
the  Scripture  (C.  B.  224,  282).  The  restoration  for  which  he  pleaded 
was  more  doctrinal  in  character.  As  he  says  in  his  reply  to  William 
Jones  (Harb.  '35,  109) : — 

"If  I  were  to  classify  in  three  chapters  the  whole  Christian  institu- 
tion, after  the  fashion  of  the  modern  school,  for  the  sake  of  being  under- 
stood, I  would  designate  them  Christian  faith,  Christian  worship  and 
Christian  morality.  To  these  the  moderns  have  added  two  others; 
which,  using  the  same  license,  I  would  call  human  philosophy  and 
human  traditions.  Now  in  the  first  chapter  we,  and  all  Christians,  are 
agreed:  for  as  Christian  faith  has  respect  to  the  matters  of  fact  re- 
corded,— to  the  direct  testimony  of  God  found  in  the  New  Testament 
concerning  himself — concerning  his  Son  and  Spirit — concerning  man- 
kind— what  he  has  done,  what  we  have  done,  and  what  he  will  do, 
there  is  no  debate.  I  find  all  confessions  of  FAITH,  properly  so  called, 
like  the  four  gospels,  tell  the  same  story  so  far  as  matters  of  fact  or 
faith  are  concerned. 

"In  the  second  chapter  we  are  also  agreed  that  God  is  to  be  wor- 
shipped through  the  Mediator — in  prayer,  in  praise,  public  and  pri- 
vate— in  the  ordinances  of  Christian  baptism,  the  Lord's  day,  the  Lord's 
supper,  and  in  the  devotional  study  of  his  word  and  of  his  works  of 
creation  and  providence. 

"In  the  third  chapter  we  all  acknowledge  the  same  moral  code. 
What  is  morality  is  confessed  and  acknowledged  by  all;  but  in  the 
practice  of  it  there  are  great  subtractions. 

"We  repudiate  the  two  remaining  chapters  as  having  any  place 
in  our  faith,  worship  or  morality ;  because  we  think  that  we  have  dis- 
covered that^  all^  the  divisions  in  Protestant  Christendom— that  all  the 
partyism,  vain  jangling  and  heresies  which  have  disgraced  the  Chris- 
tian profession,  have  emanated  from  human  philosophy  and  human  tra- 
dition. It  is  not  faith,  nor  piety,  nor  morality;  but  philosophy  and  tra- 
dition that  have  alienated  and  estranged  Christians  and  prevented  the 
conversion  of  the  world." 


■^^^  Thk  Rise  OF  THE  Current  Reformation. 

This  principle,  even  more  than  the  second,  had  a  strong  anti- 
element.  It  found  in  the  religious  conditions  of  the  world  certain 
abuses  and  errors  which  it  meant  to  correct.  For  this  purpose,  it  set 
forth  a  definite  programme,  of  which  the  items  were  the  following: — 

1.  No  Creeds. 

Mr.  Campbell  says  (C.  B.  133)  :— 

"Now,  in  attempting  to  accomplish  this,  it  must  be  observed,  that 
it  belongs  to  every  individual  and  to  every  congregation  of  individuals 
to  discard  from  their  faith  and  their  practice  everything  that  is  not 
found  written  in  the  New  Testament  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  to 
believe  and  practice  whatever  is  there  enjoined.  This  done,  and  every- 
thing is  done  which  ought  to  be  done. 

"But  to  come  to  the  things  to  be  discarded,  we  observe  that,  in  the 
ancient  order  of  things,  there  were  no  creeds  or  compilations  of  doc- 
trine in  abstract  terms,  nor  in  other  terms  other  than  the  terms  adopted 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  New  Testament.  Therefore  all  such  are  to  be 
discarded." 

Thus  creeds  are  held  to  be  divisive,  and  the  first  stone  of  stumbling 
in  the  way  of  union.  In  the  room  of  the  standards,  the  New  Testament 
should  be  placed  as  the  constitution  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Saviour; 
for  admission  into  which  the  only  requirement  should  be  the  belief  that 
Jesus  is  the  Messiah  and  Lord  of  all,  and  an  act  of  naturalization,  viz., 
baptism,  by  which  is  renounced  spiritual  allegiance  to  any  other.  The 
right  to  ask  any  other  questions  is  denied  (C.  B.  140,  159). 

2.  Bible  Names  for  Bible  Things. 

Thus  the  whole  nomenclature  of  scholastic  divinity  must  be  re- 
jected, and  a  complete  restoration  be  made  of  the  inspired  vocabulary. 
This  was  considered  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance.  Since  words 
have  an  imposing  influence  on  ideas,  and  all  correct  ideas  of  God  and 
things  invisible  are  supernatural  ideas,  no  other  terms  can  so  suitably 
express  them  as  the  terms  adopted  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  A  sample  of 
these  objectionable  words  is  given  (C.  B.  159)  : — 

"Such  are  the  following:  Trinity.  First,  second,  and  third  person 
in  the  adorable  Trinity :  God  the  Son ;  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost.  Eter- 
nal Son.  The  Son  is  eternally  begotten  by  the  Father ;  the  Holy  Ghost 
eternally  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son.  The  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ;  the  humanity  of  Jesus  Christ;  the  incarnation  of  Jesus 
Christ.  This  he  said  as  man;  and  that  as  God.  The  common  opera- 
tions, and  the  special  operations  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Original  sin,  and 
original  righteousness.  Spiritual  death;  spiritual  life.  Covenant  of 
works,  covenant  of  grace,  and  covenant  of  redemption;  a  dispensation 
of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  administration  of  the  covenant.  Effectual 
calling.  Free  will.  Free  grace.  Total  depravity.  Eternal  justification. 
Eternal  sleep.    Elect  world.    Elect  infants.    Light  of  nature.    Natural 


The^  Principus.  117 

religion.  General  and  particular  atonement.  Legal  and  evangelical 
repentance.  Moral,  ceremonial,  and  judicial  law.  Under  the  law  as 
a  covenant  of  works,  and  as  a  rule  of  life.  Christian  sabbath.  Holy 
sacrament.  Administration  of  the  sacrament.  Different  kinds  of  faith 
and  grace.    Divine  service ;  the  public  worship  of  God,"  &c.,  &c. 

These  all  must  be  abandoned  as  the  language  of  Ashdod,  and  the 
pure  speech  of  the  sacred  writers  must  be  restored.  Along  with  these 
must  go  the  use  of  Biblical  terms  in  a  non-Biblical  sense  (C.  B.  i6o) : — 

"Of  this  sort  are  the  following:  The  natural  man,  spiritual  man; 
in  the  flesh,  in  the  spirit ;  regeneration,  washing  of  regeneration ;  min- 
istration of  the  Spirit,  demonstration  of  the  Spirit;  power  of  God, 
faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  the  grace  of  God ;  the  letter,  the  spirit ; 
the  old  and  new  covenant;  word  of  God;  the  ministry  of  the  word; 
truth  of  the  Gospel;  mystery,  election,  charity,  heretic,  heresy,  blas- 
phemy, church  communion,  baptism,  faith,  etc.,  etc.,  etc." 

"The  adoption  and  constant  use  of  this  barbarous  dialect,  was  the 
cause  of  making  divisions,  and  is  still  one  existing  cause  of  their  con- 
tinuance." 

3.  Primitive  Order  of  Worship. 

This  was  based  on  Acts  2:42:  "They  continued  steadfastly  in  the 
apostles'  teaching  and  fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of  bread  and  the 
prayers."  This  approved  precedent  was  held  to  be  the  law  for  worship, 
which  was  thus  divinely  ordained  and  was  uniform  in  the  Christian 
assemblies  (C.  B.  166).  The  Lord's  Supper  was  the  core  of  this  service. 
As  such,  it  should  be  observed  weekly. 

4.  Primitive  Organization. 

"This  is  an  independent  congregation,  which  has  the  right  to  call,' 
appoint,  or  ordain  any  person  to  any  office  laid  down  in  the  volume, 
and  to  do  all  the  acts  and  deeds  thereto  appertaining,  without  calling 
to  their  aid  the  assistance  of    any  foreign    deacon,    bishop    or  officer; 
(C.  B.  261.)" 

Thus  all  superintending  judicatories,  of  whatever  kind,  are  rejected. 
The  officers  of  this  independent  church  are  (i)  Bishops,  who  perform 
the  twofold  function  of  presiding  and  teaching  (C.  B.  232),  and  (2) 
Deacons,  who  had  charge  of  the  Lord's  treasury  (C.  B.  335). 

5.  Primitive  Discipline. 

This  was  a  strict  application  of  the  requirements  of  the  Scriptures, 
of  which  the  officers  were  only  interpreters  and  executors,  but  of  which 
the  Lord  is  the  only  Legislator  (C.  B.  429).  Every  requirement  was 
received  with  "the  unfeigned  and  vehement  desire  to  know  the  will  of 
the  Lord  in  order  to  do  it."  This  was  the  essence  of  the  spirit  of  ancient 
Christians. 


118  The  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reformation. 

These  Items  constituted  the  chief  points  in  the  programme  of 
Restoration.  It  was  in  the  application  of  this  principle  Alexander 
Campbell  proved  the  most  adept.    He  says  (C.  B.  295)  :— 

"When  any  act  of  devotion  or  item  of  religious  practice  presented 
itself  to  my  view,  of  which  I  could  learn  nothing  from  my  Master's 
Last  Will  and  Testament,  I  simply  gave  it  up ;  and  if  I  found  anything 
there  not  exhibited  by  my  fellow-Christians,  I  went  into  the  practice 
of  it,  if  it  was  the  practice  of  an  individual,  and  if  it  was  a  social  act 
I  attempted  to  invite  others  to  unite  with  me  in  it.  Thus  I  went  on 
correcting  my  views,  and  returning  to  his  institutes  until  I  became  so 
speckled  a  bird  that  scarce  one  of  any  species  would  cordially  consociate 
with  me;  but  I  gained  ample  remuneration  in  the  pursuit,  and  got  a 
use  of  my  wings  which  I  never  before  experienced.  Thus,  too,  I  was 
led  into  a  secret,  which  as  I  received  freely  I  communicate  freely.  It 
is  this :  There  is  an  ancient  and  a  modern  order  of  things  in  the  Lord's 
house.'' 

Such  were  the  principles  of  the  Current  Reformation,  as  we  can 
gather  them  from  their  best  sources. 

There  remains  for  us  only  to  make  such  observations  and  exhorta- 
tions as  these  outlines  will  warrant  in  our  humble  judgment: — 

I.  The  fathers  of  this  movement  did  not  consider  themselves  as 
starting  Christianity  de  novo.  They  recognized  the  legitimacy  in  the 
main  of  the  traditional  systems,  especially  of  Protestantism  out  of  which 
they  had  their  own  origin,  but  sought  to  correct  some  of  the  evident 
abuses  in  the  popular  religion.  Thus  they  called  back  to  the  Word  of 
God,  which  they  found  embodied  in  the  first  forms  of  Christianity  as  it 
came  from  its  divine  founder.  In  no  sense  did  they  limit  the  number 
of  the  truly  Christian  to  their  own  body.  They  mingled  fully  and 
freely  with  the  Christians  of  all  the  sects,  in  the  hope  of  showing  them 
the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly  and  in  the  effort  of  leading  them 
out  of  their  divisions  and  supineness  into  a  victorious  force,  united  in 
the  will  of  their  Lord. 

2. "  The  history  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  may  be  written  in  the 
terms  of  these  principles.  The  formation  of  this  people  resulted  from 
the  attempts  of  Christian  men  of  all  the  sects  to  grasp  and  maintain 
these  principles.  The  development  of  the  Disciples  may  also  be 
gathered  under  the  same  laws.  Our  English  Churches,  under  direct 
influences  from  their  Scotch  Baptist  predecessors,  have  emphasized  the 
Third  Principle  almost  to  the  total  exclusion  of  the  others.  The  same 
is  true  of  our  Australian,  Canadian,  early  New  York,  Tennessean  and 
(I  am  told)  some  of  our  Texas  brethren.  Certainly  there  are  many 
individuals  in  all  these  sections  who  do  not  have  this  attitude,  but  this 
is  the  dominant  type  in  each  of  these  groups ;  at  least,  it  is  the  note  we 


The  Principi^Ks.  119 

who  are  afar  off  are  most  permitted  to  hear.  If  I  were  to  ask  a  typical 
representative  of  these  sections  of  our  brotherhood,  "What  is  the  mis- 
sion and  plea  of  the  Church  of  Christ" — it  would  probably  not  do  to 
say  "Christian  Churches" — he  would,  I  take  it,  frankly  answer,  "the 
Restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity,"  and  be  confident  that  he  stated 
the  whole  of  it.  "God  will  take  care  of  the  conversion  of  the  heathen 
and  the  union  of  Christians  (if  there  be  any  such  outside  our  body)  in 
his  own  good  time ;  our  duty  is  to  stick  to  'the  law  and  the  testimony.' 
We  are  against  all  compromise  and  innovation."  If  I  pitch  my  tent 
toward  the  great  windy  city  of  the  Great  Lakes  region,  with,  however, 
much  of  the  feeling  Lot  had  when  he  approached  Sodom,  and  ask  one 
of  that  group  of  brilliant  men  who  by  the  kindness  of  some  of  our 
papers  have  held  the  public  eye  for  the  last  decade,  "What  is  the  mission 
and  plea  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ" — I  must  call  them  this — I  believe 
he  would  firmly  say,  "Christian  Union."  At  least  the  emphasis  is 
rightly  placed  there,  "That  understanding  of  the  message  of  the  Fathers 
which  separates  us  from  the  great  mass  of  the  Lord's  people" — and  he 
does  not  doubt  that  they  are  the  Lord's  people — "is  a  mistake,  however 
literally  it  may  follow  Apostolic  models.  Our  true  place  is  in  the  midst 
of  all  Christian  activity,  and  we  ought  to  be  there  with  our  plea  for 
unity  and  fellowship."  Between  these  extremes  may  be  gathered  most 
of  the  other  positions.  The  Lexington  School,  the  Cincinnati  School, 
the  St.  Louis  School  and  (may  I  say)  the  California  School, — Each  of 
these  hold  more  or  less  firmly  to  the  two  principles,  approaching  at  one 
time  one  extreme,  at  another,  another;  varying  as  the  different  ques- 
tions arise. 

The  same  variety  of  emphasis  has  characterized  the  different 
periods  of  our  history.  Thomas  Campbell  began  with  'Christian  Union' 
emblazoned  on  our  standards.  Unions  were  numerous, — an  attempted 
union  with  the  Presbyterians,  union  with  the  Baptists,  union  of  Reform- 
ers and  Christians.  This  principle  is  the  key  to  our  early  history. 
Alexander  Campbell  then  raised  higher  and  higher  the  emblem  of  Res- 
toration. The  Mahoning  Association  was  abandoned ;  our  churches  be- 
came strictly  independent.  Lines  betwen  the  Reformed  and  the  sects 
were  strictly  drawn.  The  Jews  had  no  dealings  with  Samaritans.  This 
shaded  into  the  Civil  Wai  period,  from  out  the  gloom  of  which  appeared 
two  great  heroes — Benjamin  Franklin  and  J.  W.  McGarvey.  These 
were  but  the  natural  successors  of  Mr.  Campbell  and  did  an  enormous 
work,  one  as  an  evangelist  and  the  other  as  a  teacher,  for  their  day  and 
generation.  Their  entire  work  has  been  marked  by  a  strict  conformity 
to  the  Scriptures  as  they  understood  them.    Over  against  this  tendency 


120  •  "The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

there  arose  mighty  men, — Isaac  Errett,  A.  McLean,  J.  H.  Garrison; 
who  have  felt  that  the  First,  if  not  the  Second  Principle  was  in  danger 
of  being  neglected.  The  call  has  been  for  missions  and  co-operation. 
By  no  means  does  the  honor  of  these  movements  go  only  to  the  men  I 
have  named,  but  each  has  had  around  him  a  group  of  friends  and  help- 
ers whom  time  forbids  me  to  mention.  The  last  decade  has  been  marked 
by  the  appearance  of  a  group  of  young  men;  who,  in  addition  to  the 
training  of  our  colleges,  have  availed  themselves  of  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  the  great  American  Universities;  H.  L.  Willett  may  be  men- 
tioned as  one  of  this  type.  These  men,  as  a  rule,  have  a  keen  sense  of 
the  essential  Christianity  of  our  religious  neighbors.  They  feel  that 
great  advancement  has  been  made  toward  the  realization  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  both  without  and  within,  since  the  beginning  of  this  movement. 
They  are  ardent  advocates  of  Christian  Union.  This  great  principle  is 
certainly  to  the  forefront  in  all  conferences  of  our  brethren. 

In  fact,  ours  is  an  age  of  uncommon  mental  activity.  We  are  in 
the  midst  of  a  melee  on  the  holding  and  application  of  our  principles. 
Not  a  few  will  be  found  who  are  setting  up  a  camp  and  crying,  "Lo 
here,  lo  there."  I  suggest  that  we  go  not  out  to  any  of  them,  and  that  the 
solution  of  the  problems  of  our  day  is  to  be  found  in  standing  ifirmly  by 
the  foundation  of  our  fathers,  viz.: 

3.  Hold  the  three  principles  together,  intact,  and  in  the  proper 
relation  to  one  another.  The  Conversion  of  the  World  is  the  goal. 
Nothing  which  is  not  rightly  and  truly  missionary  has  a  place  in  this 
Reformation.  We  should  measure  all  our  acts  and  tenets  by  the  test: 
"Do  they  help  to  realize  the  Lord's  Prayer — 'that  the  world  may  be- 
lieve that  Thou  didst  send  me'  ?"  The  Union  of  Christians  is  the  means 
to  the  end.  Do  our  acts  or  tenets  tend  to  Union  ?  If  not  so,  let  us  not 
be  too  sure  that  we  are  doing  God's  will,  even  if  we  read  it  out  of  the 
Book.  We  have  no  right  to  get  off  in  a  corner  by  ourselves,  even  if  we 
may  have  the  truth  or  the  pure  speech  or  the  primitive  practice,  and  hug 
these  treasures  to  our  breasts,  saying,  "We  are  better  than  thou."  Our 
duty  is  to  be  in  the  currents  of  the  world's  history,  to  be  there  to  bear 
our  part  of  the  burdens  and  to  make  our  contribution  as  I  believe  God 
has  given  us  to  do.  Separatism  and  divisiveness  is  a  sin,  no  less  for 
the  unionist  than  for  the  sectarian.  Such  were  not  the  domgs  of  the 
Fathers.  The  Restoration  of  Primitive  Christianity  is  the  method  of 
union.  We  have  never  believed  that  the  joining  ot  all  the  sects  in  one 
grand  army  is  the  great  desideratum,  but  that  each  individual  should 
study  his  New  Testament  and  copy  therefrom  the  life  of  the  Early 
Christians  before  party  standards  and  barriers  were  set  up.    Restora- 


The  Principi-Es.  121 

tion  is  the  first  and  most  immediate  duty.  Let  us  see  that  we  restore  the 
ancient  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter,  and  we  can  make  no  mistake  in  hold- 
mg  strictly  to  this  principle. 

4.  Too  much  must  not  be  made  of  the  negative  side  of  the  Princi- 
ple of  Restoration.  From  this  has  grown  the  whole  controversy  on 
missionary  societies,  the  organ,  Sunday  Schools,  Christian  Endeavor, 
Higher  Education,  etc.  I  am  sure  that  the  position  of  our  so-called 
Anti-brethren — and  I  use  the  term  with  no  sort  of  derision,  but  with 
the  highest  respect — is  one  of  great  consistency  and  sincerity  and 
loyalty  to  the  truth.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  I  believe  as  firmly  that 
this  position  is  a  mistake, — a  mistake  not  in  its  aims  and  purposes,  but 
in  its  understanding  of  the  New  Testament.  This  book,  whch  is  our 
guide  in  all  matters  of  faith  and  practice,  is  not  a  series  of  rules  and 
detail  regulations.  That  was  Judaism,  from  which  Jesus  came  to  free 
us,  and  of  which  Paul  teaches  that  we  are  not  under  Law  but  under 
Grace.  It  is  certainly  right  to  obey  any  Apostolic  command,  when  that 
is  properly  understood ;  but  we  should  not  obey  as  a  strict  legalism, 
but  as  a  free  deed  of  love.  No  less  is  the  Christian  liberty  we  have 
even  toward  the  Apostles.  The  wanting  of  a  command  in  a  thousand 
specific  cases  in  no  sense  releases  us  from  our  Christian  duty  as  inter- 
preted by  the  spirit  of  Christ.  The  same  care  must  be  exercised  in  the 
principle  of  Apostolic  precedent.  It  is  certainly  right  to  follow  any 
clear  practice  of  the  early  Christians.  But  the  absence  of  a  precedent 
should  never  be  taken  as  a  prohibition  of  a  practice  which  in  other  ways 
is  in  harmony  with  the  Christian  spirit.  The  mistake  here  is  another 
misunderstanding  of  the  New  Testament.  There  is  only  one  book  of 
Apostolic  precedents,  viz.,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  When  we  examine 
this  book,  we  see  that  it  in  no  case  aims  to  give  the  total  of  Apostolic 
practice.  It  is  on  the  other  hand  a  history  of  early  Christian  missions. 
Its  theme,  as  definitely  stated  by  its  author  (Acts  1:8),  is  to  show  how 
the  Gospel  spread  from  Jerusalem  out  through  Judea  and  Samaria  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  The  book  only  gives  the  new  de- 
partures in  a  series  of  breakings  away  from  the  bonds  of  Judaism.  The 
Acts  are  a  history  with  a  purpose, — that  purpose  is  the  vindication  of 
the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  and  of  the  message  to  which  he  gave  his  life. 
The  early  Christians  did  ten  thousand  things  of  which  we  have  no 
record,  any  one  of  which  would  be  a  good  Apostolic  precedent  if  we 
had  it.  "These  things  are  written  for  admonition  unto  those  to  whom 
the  ends  of  time  have  come."  But  the  silence  of  the  Scripture  Is  in  no 
case  a  mandatory  law.  The  whole  cry  of  innovation  is  to  be  answered 
just  as  Isaac  Errett  did  it, — by  showing  how  the  objectors  do  hundreds 


122  I'he  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

of  things  in  their  worship  and  practice  for  which  they  have  no  warrant 
.whatever  in  Scripture.  We  should  not  identify  the  order  of  the  back- 
woods of  America  with  that  of  the  First  Century,  whatever  may  be  the 
lessons  we  have  learned  from  it.  We  need  historic  perspective  in  all 
questions  of  this  kind. 

5.  We  ought  to  discourage  all  attempts  to  draw  lines  between  the 
various  factors  and  tendencies  of  this  great  brotherhood.  I  confess 
myself  in  fellowship  with  all  and  intend  to  stay  in  this  fellowship.  I  sit 
down  at  the  Lord's  Table  in  crude  cabin  of  our  out-of-the-way  sections 
with  the  same  delight  with  which  I  can  enjoy  the  elegant  service  of  our 
city  churches.  The  people  who  take  the  Bible  as  their  guide  are  my 
people;  the  Father  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  their  God,  is  my 
God.  Our  differences  are  differences  of  culture,  and  they  are  being 
rapidly  overcome  with  increase  in  acquaintance  and  the  general  educa- 
tion of  the  American  people.  This  is  not  to  say  that  there  are  no  errors 
in  theology  in  our  brotherhood.  But  the  best  combatant  of  error  is  the 
truth.  If  anyone  is  mistaken  in  his  views,  there  are  those  who  will 
arise  to  set  him  right.  At  least,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  false  doctrine 
will  not  have  a  wide  extent  and  will  soon  pass  away,  as  an  eddy  in  the 
main  current  in  the  progress  of  God's  truth. 

My  corrective  of  the  ills  of  our  brotherhood  is  fellowship, — fellow- 
ship of  the  rich  and  poor,  of  the  north  and  south,  of  the  learned  and  un- 
learned, of  the  orthodox  and  heretic.  When  we  know  each  other  bet- 
ter, and  love  each  other  more,  our  differences  will  disappear,  as  the 
mist  before  the  morning  sun ;  and  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  will  arise 
Iwith  healings  on  his  wings. 

6.  I  believe  we  have  vindicated  the  title  of  this  book.  The  move- 
ment of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  is  a  Restoration  as  far  as  it  relates  to 
the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament.  It  is  also  a  Reformation,  as  it 
affects  the  conditions  of  Modern  Christianity.  This  was  the  original 
term  for  the  movement  of  the  whole.  Restoration  was  only  one 
phase, — a  part  of  its  programme.  Reformation  emphasizes  Christian 
Union, — a  work  to  be  accomplished  through  Restoration.  The  Current 
Reformation,  in  contrast  to  the  Protestant  Reformation  and  as  a  com- 
plement of  the  same,  is  the  larger  and  better  term.  As  yet  this  work 
is  in  its  incipiency.  It  is  destined  to  grow.  In  the  coming  centuries, 
when  all  Christians  shall  be  one  and  the  great  First  Principle  shall  re- 
ceive due  attention  and  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  shall  become  the 
Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Christ,  it  will  be  a  revolution. 

7.  But  it  may  be  objected  that  we  make  too  little  of  Christ  in  all 
this  programme,  that  nothing  is  said  of  Loyalty  to  Christ,  Authority 


The  Principi.es.  123 

of  Christ,  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  etc.  I  would  answer  that  if  it  appears 
so  it  is  only  appearance.  The  terms  which  I  have  used  have  been  sanc- 
tified by  a  long  course  of  history.  There  is  no  real  gain  in  changing. 
To  appeal  to  the  New  Testament  is  to  appeal  to  Christ.  Jesus  is  the 
alpha  and  omega,  the  center  and  circumference,  the  spring  and  the  stay 
of  the  whole  volume.  I  am  suspicious  of  any  cry  ''Back  to  Christ," 
which  is  not  a  cry  "back  to  the  literature  which  God  in  His  providence 
has  given  us  about  the  Christ."  As  I  would  not  take  the  long  journey 
of  the  traditions  of  the  church,  I  would  not  take  the  short  cut  of  ration- 
alistic criticism.  The  Christ  outside  of  or  apart  from  the  Book,  if  such 
were  possible,  is  not  the  Christ  for  me.  I  believe  that  in  accepting  the 
teachings,  faith  and  practices  of  the  New  Testament,  I  have  the  highest 
loyalty  to  Christ  and  the  utmost  confidence  in  His  authority  and  the 
firmest  belief  in  His  divinity. 

8.  Restoration  will  do  little  good  if  it  does  not  carry  with  it  a  bet- 
ter study  of  the  Scriptures.  The  motto  of  Thomas  Campbell  would 
have  been  worth  little  if  his  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  had  stood  at 
a  standstill.  Alexander  Campbell  accomplished  so  much  because  he 
applied  himself  so  long  and  so  closely  to  the  study  of  the  Bible.  It  is 
not  enough  for  us  merely  to  rely  upon  the  researches  of  the  Fathers. 
God  has  much  more  light  to  break  forth  from  His  Holy  Book.  If  we 
do  not  use  our  eyes  for  seeing,  they  become  atrophied,  and  we  become 
blind  even  to  the  light  we  have.  Let  no  man  delude  himself  that  he  is 
being  true  to  this  reformation  in  merely  applying  the  meagre  knowledge 
he  had  when  he  espoused  it,  or  which  he  inherited  from  his  forbears. 
New  texts  have  been  unearthed  and  published  since  the  days  of  Alex- 
ander Campbell.  The  monuments  have  laid  bare  their  treasures.  A 
vast  historical  research  is  going  on  all  around  us.  The  historical  method 
is  the  key  to  all  knowledge  in  our  times.  The  greatest  need  of  the  Dis- 
ciples of  Christ  to-day,  as  I  understand  it,  is  that  love  for  and  studv 
of  the  Scriptures  which  marked  our  early  history,  when  the  Bible  was 
the  constant  companion  of  the  man  at  the  plough  or  in  the  workshop, 
and  of  the  woman  in  her  kitchen  or  garden.  If  it  were  possible,  I  would 
pray  that  God  would  restore  to  us  the  simple  virtues.  While  I  know  it 
is  not  possible  for  us  to  return  to  the  primitive  conditions  of  the  Ameri- 
can frontier,  yet  we  can  restore  the  Bible  in  our  schools  and  colleges, 
in  our  homes  and  social  circles.  We  can  be  blessed  by  a  rich,  full,  free 
knowledge  of  God's  Word,  which  is  meat  indeed  and  drink  indeed  to 
our  needy  souls. 

And  this  chapter  can  come  rightfully  to  a  close  only  by  a  call  to 
th6  New  Testament,  whence  came  the  motive  and  guidance  of  this  great 


j^24  The  Rise  op  the  Current  Reformation. 

movement,  from  which  its  heroes  derived  strength  and  sustenance,  and 
by  abiding  with  which  alone  we  can  hope  to  accomplish  God's  will  in 
the  prayer  of  His  Son  that  they  all  may  be  one,  that  the  world  "may 
believe  that  Thou  didst  send  me." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Principle:s  o^  Inte:rprETation. 

Closely  related  to  the  Principles  of  the  Current  Reformation  were 
the  Principles  of  Interpretation  by  which  the  New  Testament  order  was 
to  be  obtained.  Alexander  Campbell  was  almost  wholly  responsible  for 
the  emphasis  on  this  phase  of  the  movement.  By  its  application,  he  be- 
came the  great  scholar  and  teacher  of  the  Reformation.  He  early  saw 
that  little  could  be  accomplished  in  the  way  of  reform  if  the  popular 
methods  of  text  preaching  and  reading  the  dogmas  into  the  Scriptures 
were  left  as  the  key  of  knowledge.  Hence  he  inveighed  against  them  in 
sharp  language.  When  asked  what  he  had  to  substitute  for  that  which 
he  would  tear  away,  he  said  (C.  B.  32)  : — 

"We  have  no  system  of  our  own,  nor  of  others,  to  substitute  in  lieu 
of  the  reigning  systems.  We  only  aim  at  substituting  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  lieu  of  every  creed  in  existence ;  whether  Mahometan,  Pagan, 
Jewish,  or  Sectarian.  We  wish  to  call  Christians  to  consider  that 
Jesus  Christ  has  made  them  kings  and  priests  to  God.  We  neither 
advocate  Calvinism,  Arminianism,  Arianism,  Socinianism,  Trini- 
tarianism,  Unitarianism,  Deism,  or  Sectarianism,  but  New  Testament- 
ism." 

He  then  gave  a  method  for  his  humble  readers  to  use  in  learning 
the  truth  of  the  sacred  volume.    He  says  (C.  B.  32)  : — 

"You  will  then  take,  say  a  New  Testament,  and  sit  down  with 
a  pencil  or  pen  in  your  hand.  Begin  with  Matthew's  gospel ;  read  the 
whole  of  it  at  one  reading,  or  two ;  mark  on  the  margin  every  sentence 
you  think  you  do  not  understand.  Turn  back  again ;  read  it  a  second 
time,  in  less  portions  at  once  than  in  the  first  reading;  cancel  such 
marks  as  you  have  made  which  noted  passages,  that,  on  the  first  reading 
appeared  to  you  dark  or  difficult  to  understand,  but  on  the  second  read- 
ing opened  to  your  view.  Then  read  Mark,  Luke,  and  John,  in  the 
same  manner,  as  they  all  treat  upon  the  same  subject.  After  having 
read  each  evangelist  in  this  way,  read  them  all  in  succession  a  third 
time.  At  this  time  you  will  no  doubt  be  able  to  cancel  many  of  your 
marks.  Thus  read  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  which  is  the  key  to  all  the 
Epistles ;  then  the  Epistles  in  a  similar  manner ;  always  before  reading 
an  epistle,  read  every  thing  said  about  the  people  addressed  in  the  epistle, 
which  you  find  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  This  is  the  course  which 
we  would  take  to  understand  any  book." 

This  method,  accompanied  by  earnest  prayer,  will  yield  the  secrets 
of  God's  Word.    It    will  be   aided,    however,    by  a   common     effort 

(C.B.  33):- 

125 


226  'i^HE  Rise  oe  the  Current  Reeormation. 

"It  will  add,  however,  exceedingly  to  your  advantage,  should  you 
find  two,  three,  ten  or  a  dozen  similarly  disposed,  who  will  meet  and 
read  and  converse  and  pray  with  you,  and  you  with  them  once  a  week ; 
or  should  you  be  the  member  of  a  church  walking  in  all  the  command- 
ments and  ordinances  of  the  Lord/' 

But  he  is  equally  strong  in  his  caveat  (C.  B.  33)  : — 

"Beware  of  having  any  commentator  or  system  before  your  eyes 
or  your  mind.  Open  the  New  Testament  as  if  mortal  man  had  never 
seen  it  before.  Your  acquaintance  with  the  Old  Testament  will  incal- 
culably facilitate  your  proficiency  in  the  New.  The  time  requisite  will 
be  redeemed  time.     It  will  not  interfere  with  your  ordinary  duties." 

This  was  the  method  by  which  Mr.  Campbell  obtained  his  own 
knowledge  (C.  B.  229)  : — 

''For  the  last  ten  years  I  have  not  looked  into  the  works  of  any  of 
these  men  (Glas,  Sandeman,  etc.)  ;  and  have  lost  the  taste  which  I  once 
had  for  controversial  reading  of  this  sort.  And  during  this  period  my 
inquiries  into  the  Christian  religion  have  been  almost  exclusively  con- 
fined to  the  holy  scriptures.  And  I  can  assure  you  that  the  scriptures, 
when  made  their  own  interpreter,  and  accompanied  with  earnest  desires 
to  the  author  of  these  writings,  have  become,  to  me,  a  book  entirely  new, 
and  unlike  what  they  were  when  read  and  consulted  as  a  book  of  refer- 
ence— I  call  no  man  master  upon  the  earth ;  and  although  my  own  father 
has  been  a  diligent  student,  and  teacher  of  the  Christian  religion  since 
his  youth ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  understands  this  book  as  well  as  any  per- 
son with  whom  I  am  acquainted,  yet  there  is  no  man  with  whom  I  have 
debated  more,  and  reasoned  more,  on  all  subjects  of  this  kind,  than  he — 
I  have  been  so  long  disciplined  in  the  school  of  free  inquiry,  that,  if  I 
know  my  own  mind,  there  is  not  a  man  upon  the  earth  whose  authority 
can  influence  me,  any  farther  than  he  comes  with  the  authority  of  evi- 
dence, reason,  and  truth.  To  arrive  at  this  state  of  mind  is  the  result 
of  many  experiments  and  efforts ;  and  to  me  has  been  arduous  beyond 
expression.  I  have  endeavored  to  read  the  scriptures  as  though  no  one 
had  read  them  before  me ;  and  I  am  as  much  on  my  guard  against  read- 
ing them  to-day,  through  the  medium  of  my  own  views  yesterday,  or  a 
week  ago,  as  I  am  against  being  influenced  by  any  foreign  name,  au- 
thority, or  system,  whatever." 

He  desired  every  one  of  his  brethren  to  have  the  same  liberty. 
Especially  did  he  guard  against  preconceived  opinions,  by  which  it  is 
so  easy  for  us  to  betray  the  truth.  Accordingly,  in  his  compendium 
"Christianity  Restored,"  he  gave  a  prominent  place  to  the  Principles  of 
Interpretation.    He  says  in  the  Preface  (Chr.  Rest.  13)  : — 

"Our  views  and  attainments  in  the  knowledge  of  Christianity,  such 
as  they  are,  are,  we  think,  the  necessary  results  of  our  premises  and 
principles  of  interpretation.  Certain  it  is,  that  by  them  we  were  led 
into  those  views  of  the  ancient  gospel  and  order  of  things,  which  we 
were  enabled  to  exhibit  in  the  publications  of  the  year  1823.    While  we 


Principi.es  0^  Interpretation.  127 

state  this  fact  distinctively  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  a 
candid  and  jealous  examination  of  them,  we  would  not  be  understood 
as  alleging,  that  all  who  have  since  embraced  these  views,  or  who  now 
contend  for  them,  are  indebted  to  our  labors  for  their  knowledge  of 
original  Christianity.  The  same  principles  of  interpretation  have  led 
others  to  the  same  conclusions  from  the  same  premises ;  and  thus  have 
we  been  mutually  helpers  to  one  another.  The  momentous  importance 
of  some  of  our  conclusions,  we  humbly  think,  entitle  our  premises  and 
principles  of  interpretation,  to  a  strict  and  impartial  consideration ;  and 
this  is  all  the  favor  we  petition  from  any  reader  into  whose  hands  this 
volume  may  happen  to  fall." 

Thus  the  Principles  of  Interpretation  constituted  the  first  chapter. 
The  essay  is  an  extremely  interesting  one.  In  it,  he  shows  himself  in 
complete  harmony  with  the  best  English  scholarship  of  his  time.  He 
states  his  ideal  in  the  Newtonian  science  of  the  times  (Chr.  Rest.  15; 
Chr.  Bap'm  50)  :— 

"Great  unanimity  has  obtained  in  most  of  the  sciences  in  conse- 
quence of  the  adoption  of  certain  rules  of  analysis  and  synthesis ;  for 
all  who  work  by  the  same  rules  come  to  the  same  conclusions.  And  may 
it  not  be  possible  that,  in  this  divine  science  of  religion,  there  may  yet 
be  a  very  great  degree  of  unanimity  of  sentiment  and  uniformity  01 
practice  amongst  all  who  acknowledge  its  divine  authority?" 

He  then  proceeds  to  lay  out  a  system  of  interpretation;  which, 
when  we  compare  it  section  by  section,  we  see  to  be  an  excerpt  of  the 
critical  works  of  T.  H.  Home,  Moses  Stuart,  Ernesti  and  others.  This 
fact  Mr.  Campbell  acknowledges  (Chr.  Rest.  95) : — 

"In  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  work,  which  are  designed  rather 
to  develop  the  principles,  than  to  state  and  illustrate  the  rules  of  inter- 
pretation, we  have  borrowed  much  from  the  most  popular  and  approved 
writers  on  the  science  of  Biblical  interpretation.  And  although  we  have 
not  always  quoted  directly,  we  have  quoted  enough  to  satisfy  the  reader 
that  these  are  not  private  rules,  introduced  for  any  private  purpose,  but 
that  they  are  the  by  lazu  established  (that  is,  the  law  of  the  republic  of 
letters)  principles,  universally  acknowledged  in  all  the  schools  of  the 
nineteenth  century." 

(Ibid.  96)  :— 

"In  re-examining  this  matter  on  this  occasion,  and  on  extending 
my  researches,  I  feel  myself  happy  in  assuring  the  reader,  that  I  do  not 
know  a  single  principle  asserted,  that  is  not  already  approved  by  the 
following:  Doctors  Campbell,  of  Aberdeen;  Macknight,  of  Edin- 
burgh; Doddridge,  of  England;  Michaelis,  of  Gottingen ;  Home,  of 
Cambridge;  Stuart,  of  Andover;  Ernesti,  Lowth,  Calmet,  Glassius, 
Harwood,  and  many  others  of  equal  celebrity." 

He  then  gives  his  celebrated  rules  of  interpretation  (Chr.  Rest. 
96-7:   Chr.  Sys.  16-7;   Chr.  Bap'm  61)  :— 


128  The  Rise  op  the  Current  Reformation. 

"Rule  I.  On  opening  any  book  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  consider 
first  the  historical  circumstances  of  the  book.  These  are  the  order,  the 
title,  the  author,  the  date,  the  place,  and  the  occasion  of  it. 

"II.  In  examining  the  contents  of  any  book,  as  respects  precepts, 
promises,  exhortations,  &c.,  observe  zvho  it  is  that  speaks,  and  under 
what  dispensation  he  officiates.  Is  he  a  Patriarch,  a  Jew,  or  a  Chris- 
tian? Consider  also  the  persons  addressed —  their  prejudices,  charac- 
ters, and  religious  relations.  Are  they  Jews  or  Christians — believers 
or  unbelievers  approved  or  disapproved?  This  rule  is  essential  to  the 
proper  application  of  every  command,  promise,  threatening,  admoni- 
tion, or  exhortation,  in  the  Old  Testament  or  New. 

"III.  To  understand  the  meaning  of  what  is  commanded,  prom- 
ised, taught,  etc.,  the  same  philological  principles,  deduced  from  the 
nature  of  language,  or  the  same  laws  of  interpretation  which  are 
applied  to  the  language  of  other  books,  are  to  be  applied  to  the  language 
of  the  Bible. 

"IV.  Common  usage,  which  can  only  be  ascertained  by  testimony, 
must  always  decide  the  meaning  of  any  word  which  has  but  one  sig- 
nification; but  when  words  have,  according  to  testimony — (i.  e.,  the 
Dictionary) — more  meanings  than  one,  whether  literal  or  figurative,  the 
scope,  the  context,  or  parallel  passages  must  decide  the  meaning;  for 
if  common  usage,  the  design  of  the  writer,  the  context,  and  parallel 
passages  fail,  there  can  be  no  certainty  in  the  interpretation  of  language. 

"V.  In  all  tropical  language,  ascertain  the  point  of  resemblance, 
and  judge  of  the  nature  of  the  trope,  and  its  kind,  from  the  point  of 
resemblance. 

"VI.  In  the  interpretation  of  symbols,  types,  allegories,  and  para- 
bles, this  rule  is  supreme.  Ascertain  the  poijtt  to  be  illustrated;  for 
comparison  is  never  to  be  extended  beyond  that  point — to  all  the 
attributes,  qualities,  or  circumstances  of  the  symbol,  type,  allegory, 
or  parable. 

"VII.  For  the  salutary  and  sanctifying  intelligence  of  the  oracles 
of  God,  the  following  rule  is  indispensable : — We  must  come  within  the 
understanding  distance." 

These  rules  are  an  epitome  of  the  entire  science. 

In  the  second  edition  of  this  work,  viz.,  as  the  "Christian  System," 
this  essay  was  omitted,  and  its  place  given  to  a  constructive  statement 
of  Christian  doctrines  as  Mr.  Campbell  understood  them.  It  was, 
however,  abridged  in  the  "Christian  Baptism"  (pp.  49-63).  It  is 
mainly  known  in  this  form. 
Conclusions : 

I.  These  principles  of  interpretation  are  a  direct  application  of 
the  scientific  method  of  Bacon,  Locke  and  Newton  to  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures.  This  method  was  the  itlductive,  and  is  the  most  evident 
outgrowth  of  the  Empirical  Philosophy.  Through  the  right  of  private 
interpretation  and  the  utmost  liberty  of  opinion  on  these  principles,  the 


Principi^es  of  Interpretation.  129 

Disciples  hoped  to  attain  the  necessary  agreement  for  restoration  and 
union.  These  principles  had  behind  them  the  sanction  of  the  best 
English  scholarship,  and  even  had  their  roots  in  the  best  work  of  Ger- 
many. 

2.  Herein  we  see  the  nature  of  the  scholarship  of  Alexander 
Campbell.  This  was  not  in  any  sense  original  or  creative,  but  only  com- 
municative. This  is  seen  in  his  edition  of  the  New  Testament,  known 
as  the  "Christian  Oracles."  This  work  was  not  a  new  translation,  buc 
only  a  modified  edition  of  the  works  of  George  Campbell,  Doddridge 
and  Macknight, — celebrated  English  and  Scotch  scholars.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell was  the  vender  of  the  world's  best  learning.  The  substance,  if  not 
the  form,  of  his  critical  conclusions  are  to  be  found  in  such  cyclopedias 
as  Home's  Introduction.  Likewise,  his  interpretations  were  dependent 
on  the  Commentaries  of  Campbell,  Doddridge  and  Macknight.  Also, 
for  his  ready  knowledge  of  Church  History  he  was  indebted  to  Mos- 
heim  and  Dupuy.  Mr.  Campbell  was  the  popularizer  of  the  latest 
scholastic  work.  He  was  ever  grateful  for  the  brief  contact  he  had 
with  this  at  Glasgow  University,  and  kept  in  connection  with  the  same 
from  his  comfortable  home  on  the  American  frontier,  where  he  received 
the  latest  and  best  issues  of  the  British  Press. 

3.  Herein  lies  another  >  secret  of  the  conflict.  Mr.  Campbell 
brought  the  best  Old  World  scholarship  into  the  backwoods  of  America. 
He  easily  outstripped  all  his  competitors  in  his  facility  in  marshalling 
on  his  side  the  great  authorities  of  the  world's  history.  He  had  no 
equal  in  debate  or  popular  exposition.  This  brilliancy  brought  him  an 
ardent  personal  following.  It  also  won  him  bitter  enemies.  There  was 
between  him  and  his  opponents  the  chasm  of  two  worlds'  cultures.  It 
was  inevitable  that  strife  and  division  should  ensue. 


(9) 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  The:oi.ogy  of  Ai^exander  Campbei^i.. 

There  remains  but  one  task,  and  our  work  is  complete,  viz.,  the 
application  of  the  Principles  of  the  Current  Reformation  to  the  leading 
questions  of  Christian  doctrine.  We  select  as  a  sample  of  this  the  theo- 
logical positions  of  Alexander  Campbell;  not  that  the  thinking  of  Mr. 
Campbell  was  ever  meant  to  become  a  law  to  his  brethren,  but  because 
his  mental  processes  and  conclusions  may  be  conceded  to  have  been 
the  ablest  and  most  influential  in  the  history  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ 
to  the  present  day. 

We  shall  undertake,  then,  to-  give  an  epitome  of  Mr.  Campbell's 
theology,  as  the  closing  one  of  this  series  of  essays.  This  task  has 
been  made  comparatively  easy  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Campbell  has  made 
such  an  epitome  himself.  In  the  preface  to  the  second  edition  to  the 
volume  called  "Christianity  Restored,"  he  says  (Chr.  Sys.  12)  : — 

"The  present  edition  substitutes,  for  the  first  part  of  the  last,  a 
series  of  essays  on  the  Christian  System,  and  somewhat  enlarges  on  the 
second.  The  continual  misrepresentation  and  misconception  of  our 
views  on  some  very  fundamental  points  of  the  Christian  system  seem 
at  the  present  crisis  to  call  for  a  very  definite,  clear  and  connected  view 
of  the  great  outlines  and  elements  of  the  Christian  Institution." 

This  was  the  most  systematic  statement  he  ever  made  of  his  doc- 
trines; and  while  he  disclaims  any  attempt  at  authoritative  utterance, 
it  affords  all  that  is  needed  for  our  present  purposes. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  statement  was  made  apologetically,  and 
to  prove  his  essential  orthodoxy.  The  key  to  its  understanding  is  to 
be  found  in  his  two  fundamental  categories, — the  covenants  in  the 
realm  of  theology,  and  Empiricism  in  that  of  philosophy. 

The  outline  was  made  on  the  basis  of  the  divisions  used  in  the 
theological  encyclopaedias.  It  had  nine  points;  let  us  take  these  in 
order : — 

I.  Cosmology:  "One  God,  one  system  of  nature,  one  universe." 
(Chr.  Sys.  13). 

This  is  stated  after  the  manner  of  Newton's  Principia.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell ever  held  Newton  before  him  as  the  model  for  reverent,  scientific 
work.  He  shows  the  same  comprehensiveness  of  view,  and  uses  the 
same  schematism  in  his  teachings. 

130 


The  Thkoi,ogy  of  Ai^xander  Campbei^l.  131 

2.  Bibliology:  "One  God,  one  moral  system,  one  Bible."  (Chr. 
Sys.  15.) 

Thus  the  Bible  is  the  constitution  of  God's  moral  government.  It 
is  his  covenant  with  man.  As  such,  it  contains  all  supernatural  knowl- 
edge in  the  world.  With  its  completion  all  revelation  ceased.  It  is  thus 
a  perfect  statement  of  God's  will  for  men.  It  deals  with  man  as  he  is 
and  as  he  ought  to  be,  morally  and  religiously.  Its  inspiration  was 
stated  in  harmony  with  the  Lockean  theory  of  knowledge  (See  p.  64). 
With  this  limitation,  he  accepted  the  orthodox  doctrine  of  his  time. 

3.  Theology:  The  usual  scheme  of  attributes  is  set  forth  (Chr. 
Sys.  20). 

The  Trinity. 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity  was  given  an  interesting  treatment.  In 
his  appeal  for  a  pure  speech,  Mr.  Campbell  decried  the  terms  "Trinity ; 
First,  second  and  third  person  in  the  adorable  Trinity;  God  the  Son, 
God  the  Holy  Ghost;  Eternal  Son,"  etc.,  as  the  language  of  Ashdod 
and  contrary  to  the  style  of  the  oracles  of  God  (C.  B.  159).  He  recog- 
nized that  he  took  this  stand  at  the  risk  of  his  reputation  for  orthodoxy, 
but  he  considered  that  the  use  of  these  terms  was  one  of  the  chief  bai- 
riers  to  union;    as  he  says  (C.  B.  313): — 

"But  to  come  to  the  illustration  of  how  speaking  the  same  things 
must  necessarily  issue  in  thinking  the  same  things,  or  in  the  visible  and 
real  unity  of  all  disciples  on  all  those  topics  in  which  they  ought  to 
be  united,  I  will  select  but  one  of  the  topics  of  capital  importance  on 
which  there  exists  a  diversity  of  sentiment.  For  example:  The  rela- 
tion existing  between  Jesus  Christ  and  his  Father.  This  is  one  of  those 
topics  on  which  men  have  philosophized  most  exuberantly,  and  on 
which  they  have  multiplied  words  and  divisons  more  than  on  any  other 
subject  of  human  contemplation.  Hence  have  arisen  the  Trinitarian, 
Arian,  Semiarian,  Sabellian,  Unitarian  and  Socinian  hypotheses.  It  is 
impossible  that  all  these  can  be  true,  and  yet  it  is  possible  that  they  all 
may  be  false  theories.  Now  each  of  these  theories  has  given  rise  to  a 
diction,  phraseology  and  style  of  speaking  peculiar  to  itself.  They  do 
not  all  speak  the  same  things  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit." 

(Ibid.  314)  :- 

"Now  suppose  that  all  these  would  abandon  every  word  and 
sentence  not  found  in  the  Bible  on  this  subject,  and  without  explana- 
tion, limitation  or  enlargement,  quote  with  equal  pleasure  and  readiness  ■ 
and  apply  in  every  suitable  occasion  every  word  and  sentence  found  in 
the  volume  to  the  Father,  to  the  Son  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit ;  how  long 
would  divisions  on  this  subject  exist?  It  would  be  impossible  to  per- 
petuate them  on  this  plan." 

The  expected  happened.  Mr.  Campbell's  strictures  on  the  terms 
were  taken  as  concealing  a  denial  of  the  doctrine.    Accordingly  he  was 


132  T^^^  Rise  o?  the  Current  Reformation 

charged  with  being  an  Arian,  Unitarian,  Socinian  or  what  not  (C.  B. 
50,  216-7,  319)-  Ii^  self-defense  he  was  compelled  to  make  a  positive 
statement  (C.  B.  320).  He  did  this  only  on  the  urgency  of  his  friends 
(C.  B.  333).  He  said  he  "felt  reluctant  to  speculate  on  the  incompre- 
hensible Jehovah ;"  that  he  knew  how  difficult  it  was  to  depart  from  the 
terms  of  the  creeds  and  not  be  accused  of  producing  a  new  theory,  and 
adds  (C.  B.  333)  :— 

"If,  however,  you  will  neither  make  a  new  theory  out  of  my  expo- 
sitions, nor  contend  for  any  speculations  on  the  subject,  nor  carry  the 
views  farther  than  where  I  leave  off,  I  will  gratify  you  and  other  friends 
with  my  views  of  the  first  sentence  in  John's  Preface  to  his  Testi- 
mony,— "In  the  beginning  was  the  word,  and  the  word  was  with  God, 
and  the  word  was  God." 

In  this  attempt  at  statement,  he  warns  against  pressing  too  far 
the  analogy  of  human  relations.  He  distinguishes  between  the  Word 
of  God  and  the  Son  of  God.  "There  was  no  Jesus,  no  Messiah,  no 
Christ,  no  Son  of  God,  no  Only  Begotten  before  the  reign  of  Augustus 
Caesar."  On  the  other  hand,  the  eternal  relation  was  wholly  of  a 
"mental  nature,"  viz.,  that  "between  a  word  and  an  idea."  He  says 
(C.  B.  334) :- 

"It  is  a  relation  of  the  most  sublime  order ;  and  no  doubt  the  reason 
why  the  name  Word  is  adopted  by  the  apostle  in  this  sentence  was  be- 
cause of  its  superior  ability  to  represent  to  us  the  divine  relation  exist- 
ing between  God  and  the  Saviour  prior  to  his  becoming  the  Son  of 
God."    Thus 

"As  a  word  is  an  exact  image  of  an  idea,  so  is  'The  Word'  an 
exact  image  of  the  invisible  God.  As  a  word  cannot  exist  without  an 
idea  nor  an  idea  without  a  word,  so  God  never  was  without  'The 
Word,'  nor  'The  Word'  without  God;  or  as  a  word  is  of  equal  age, 
or  co-etaneous  with  its  idea,  so  'The  Word'  and  God  are  co-eternal. 
And  as  an  idea  does  not  create  its  word,  nor  a  word  its  idea,  so  God 
did  not  create  'The  Word,'  nor  the  'Word'  God. 

"Such  a  view  does  the  language  used  by  John  suggest.  And  to 
this  do  all  the  Scriptures  agree.  For  'The  Word'  was  made  flesh, 
and  in  consequence  of  becoming  incarnate  he  is  styled  the  Son  of  God, 
the  only  Begotten  of  the  Father.  As  from  eternity  God  was  manifest 
in  and  by  'The  Word,'  so  now  God  is  manifest  in  the  flesh.  As  God 
was  always  with  'The  Word,'  so  when  the  'Word'  becomes  flesh  he 
is  Emanuel,  God  with  us.  As  God  was  never  manifest  but  by  the 
*Word,'  so  the  heavens  and  the  earth  and  all  things  were  created  by 
*The  Word.'  And  as  'The  Word'  ever  was  the  effulgence  or  repre- 
sentation of  the  invisible  God,  so  he  will  ever  be  known  and  adored  as 
'The  Word  of  God.'  So  much  for  the  divine  and  eternal  relation  be- 
tween the  Saviour  and  God." 


The  THEOI.OGY  OF  AI.EXANDER  Campbeee.  133 

He  concludes  (C.  B.  334)  :— 

"I  can  give  the  above  views  upon  no  other  authority  than  my  own 
reasonings.     I  learned  them  from  nobody — I  found  them  in  no  book." 

(Ibid  335)  :- 

"I  have  acceded  to  your  request  with  more  ease  than  I  could'have 
done,  had  it  not  been  for  a  few  prating  bodies  who  are  always  striving 
to  undo  my  influence  by  the  cry  of  Unitarianism  or  Socinianism,  or 
some  other  obnoxious  ism.    From  all  isms  may  the  Lord  save  us !" 

This  statement  allayed  fairly  well  the  criticism  of  Mr.  Campbell's 
enemies,  but  now  he  met  with  objections  from  the  camp  of  his  friends. 
Mr.  Stone  wrote  him  in  1827;  and  after  paying  him  the  highest  com- 
pliments (See  p.  88)  said  (C.  B.  378):— 

"From  you  we  have  learned  more  fully  the  evil  of  speculating  on 
religion,  and  have  made  considerable  proficiency  in  correcting  our- 
selves. But,  dear  sir,  how  surprised  and  sorry  were  we  to  see  in  your 
tenth  number,  volume  four,  a  great  aberration  from  your  professed 
principles.  You  there  have  speculated  and  theorized  on  the  most  im- 
portant point  in  theology,  and  in  a  manner  more  mysterious  and  meta- 
physical than  your  predecessors.'' 

Mr.  Campbell  replied  (C.  B.  379-380)  :— 

"Brother  Stone, — I  will  call  you  brother  because  you  once  told  me 
that  you  could  conscientiously  and  devoutly  pray  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  though  there  was  no  other  God  in  the  universe  than  he.  I 
then  asked  you  of  what  import  and  consequence  was  all  the  long  con- 
troversy you  had  waged  with  the  Calvinists  on  the  Trinitarian  ques- 
tions. They  did  practically  no  more  than  pray  to  Jesus,  and  you  could 
consistently  and  conscientiously  do  no  less.  Theoretically,  you  differed ; 
but  practically,  you  agreed.  I  think  you  told  me  that  you  were  forced 
into  this  controversy,  and  that  you  regretted  it.  Some  weak  heads 
among  my  Baptist  brethren  have  been  scandalized  at  me  because  I 
called  you  brother  Stone.  'What'  say  they,  'call  an  Arimi,  heretic,  a 
brother ! ! !'  'I  know  nothing  of  his  Arianism,'  said  I,  'nor  of  his  Cal- 
vinism. I  never  seriously  read  one  entire  pamphlet  of  the  whole  con- 
troversy, and  I  fraternize  with  him  as  I  do  with  the  Calvinists. — Neither 
of  their  theories  are  worth  one  hour;  and  they  who  tell  me  that  they 
supremely  venerate  and  unequivocally  worship  the  King,  my  Lord  and 
Master,  and  are  willing  to  obey  him  in  all  things,  I  call  my  brethren.'  .  . 
But,  brother  Stone,  I  exceedingly  regret  that  you  have  said  and  written 
so  much  on  two  topics,  neither  of  which  you,  nor  myself,  nor  any  man 
living  can  fully  understand.  One  of  these  is  the  burthen  of  your  late 
letter  to  me.  You  do  not  like  my  comment  on  John,  ch.  i,  ver.  ist, — 
Well,  then,  just  say  so,  and  let  it  alone.  I  said  in  presenting  it  I  was 
not  about  to  contend  for  it,  nor  to  maintain  any  theory  upon  the  subject. 
My  words  are  'Noi  would  I  dispute  or  contend  for  this  as  a  theory  or 
speculation  with  anybody.' " 


134  ^HS  Ris^  OF  THE  Current  Reeormation". 

He  closes,  (C.  B.  380)  :— 

"But  I  adopt  neither  system,  and  will  fight  for  none.  I  believe  that 
God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  sent  his  only  begotten  Son ;  that  Jesus 
was  the  Son  of  God,  in  the  true,  full  and  proper  import  of  these  words ; 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  which 
was  sent  by  the  concurrence  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  to  attest  and 
establish  the  truth,  and  remain  a  comforter,  an  advocate  on  earth,  when 
Jesus  entered  the  heavens." 

Thus  the  controversy  rested  in  the  early  days.  Both  Campbell  and 
Stone  tried  to  remain  within  the  limits  of  revelation,  but  could  not 
agree  as  to  its  interpretation.  They  did  not  make  this  the  cause  of 
division,  even  on  this  important  question.  Mr.  Campbell's  view  came 
more  and  more  into  the  ascendancy;  so  that  no  longer  the  orthodoxy 
of  his  followers  is  questioned  by  any  serious  thinker  (See  Chr.  Sys. 
21-26). 

4.  Anthropology:  The  Augustinian  doctrine  of  man's  original 
perfection,  fall,  and  the  corruption  of  the  race  thereby,  was  accepted 
by  Mr.  Campbell  in  common  with  his  times.  This  process  was  stated  in 
the  terms  of  the  Covenant  Theology  (Chr.  Sys.  27-31). 

5.  Christology:  A  scheme  of  redemption  was  also  laid  out  on 
the  same  lines  (Chr.  Sys.  31-37).  In  this,  God's  part  was  the  gift  of 
his  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  threefold  office  of  Prophet,  Priest  and 
King  (Chr.  Sys.  37-55).  The  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  was  not  made 
the  subject  of  special  study  by  Mr.  Campbell.  This  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  his  statement  is  in  the  main  a  quotation  from  Watson's  Institutes 
(ibid.  43-7).  He  thus  accepted  the  orthodox  doctrine  of  his  times. 
Stone,  on  the  other  hand,  dissented  from  this  view. 

6.  Soteriology:  Man's  part  in  the  process  of  salvation  was 
stated  in  the  threefold  demand  of  Faith,  Repentance  and  Baptism. 
Faith  is  defined  in  strict  conformance  with  Lockean  principles  (Chr. 
Sys.  55-56).  (See  p.  62).  Repentance  is  reformation,  "actual  ceas- 
ing to  do  evil,  learning  to  do  well"  (ibid.  57-8).  Baptism  is  set  in  con- 
ceptions of  the  Covenant  Theology  (ibid.  59-62).  It  was  on  this  sub- 
ject Mr.  Campbell  made  his  chief  dogmatic  contribution  to  the  world. 
Let  us  trace  in  brief  the  history  of  this  doctrine  from  the  beginning : — 

Baptism. 

I.     Its  action  and  proper  subject. 

As  a  child  in  a  Presbyterian  family,  Alexander  Campbell  was 
sprinkled  in  infancy.  On  his  coming  into  the  church  in  his  teens  he 
took  no  thought  of  baptism  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  49).  In  the  Independent 
Church  at  Rich  Hill  was  one  James  Foster,  who  held  that  there  was  no 


The   THEOI.OGY  OF   AI.EXANDER   Campbei.1,.  135 

authority  in  the  Scriptures  for  infant  baptism.  Foster  later  came  to 
America  and  lived  in  the  same  community  as  the  Campbells  (Rich. 
Mem.  I.  82).  The  year  preceding  the  family's  stay  in  Glasgow  the 
Haldanes  were  immersed  in  Edinburgh  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  180-1), 
but  Mr.  Ewing  opposed  this  course.  While  the  subject  was  one 
of  those  often  discussed  in  this  period,  Mr.  Campbell  as  yet  gave  it 
no  earnest  thought  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  186-7).  It  came  up  first  in 
America.  The  occasion  was  the  "Declaration  and  Address,"  in 
which  Thomas  Campbell  set  forth  his  motto, — "Where  the  Scrip- 
tures speak,  we  speak,  and  where  the  Scriptures  are  silent,  we 
are  silent;"  as  he  further  defined  it, — "We  will  require  nothing  as  a 
matter  of  faith  or  duty,  except  that  for  which  we  have  a  'thus  saith  the 
Lord,'  either  in  expressed  command  or  approved  precedent."  The 
silence  which  followed  was  broken  by  Andrew  Munro,  a  bookseller  of 
Canonsburg,  who  said:  "^Mr.  Campbell,  if  we  adopt  that  as  a  basis, 
then  there  is  an  end  of  infant  baptism."  Thomas'  reply  was:  "Of 
course,  if  infant  baptism  be  not  found  in  Scripture,  we  can  have  nothing 
to  do  with  it,"  not  doubting  that  adequate  authority  could  be  found 
for  it ;  at  which  Gen.  Acheson  exclaimed  with  emotion :  "I  hope  I  may 
never  see  the  day  when  my  heart  will  renounce  that  blessed  saying  of 
Scripture,  'Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me  and  forbid  them  not, 
for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.' "  At  which  James  Foster,  who 
was  to  prove  the  critic  of  the  company,  said:  "Mr.  Acheson,  I  would 
remark,  that  in  the  portion  of  Scripture  you  have  quoted,  there  is  no 
reference  whatever  to  infant  baptism."  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  237-8).  Thus, 
from  the  beginning  baptism  was  a  crucial  question  in  the  Christian  Asso- 
ciation. It  was  destined  to  be  the  one  more  than  all  others  on  which  their 
principles  were  to  be  tested.  But  at  this  time  Thomas  Campbell  did 
not  see  any  contradiction  between  these  principles  and  infant  baptism, 
at  most  he  held  that  the  question  should  be  a  matter  of  forbearance,  and 
that  they  should  not  hastily  abandon  a  usage  of  so  long  standing  in 
religious  society,  that  baptism  should  be  put  among  the  "non-essentials," 
and  be  held  as  not  of  such  importance  as  faith  and  righteousness.  Soon 
after,  while  riding  together,  James  Foster  asked:  "Father  Campbell, 
how  could  you  in  the  absence  of  any  authority  in  the  Word  of  God, 
baptize  a  child  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit  ?" 
The  elder  Campbell  replied  in  irritation:  "Sir,  you  are  the  most  in- 
tractable person  I  ever  met."  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  240).  Soon  after,  while 
young  Alexander  was  explaining  the  principles  of  the  "Declaration  and 
Address"  to  Mr.  Riddle,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  the  latter  said :  "Sir, 
these  words,  however  plausible  in  appearance,  are  not  sound,  for  if  you 


^136  ^HH  Rise  oi'  THS  CuRRiiNT  Reformation. 

follow  these  out,  you  must  become  a  Baptist."  At  which  the  young  man 
asked  in  surprise:  "Why,  sir,  is  there  in  the  Scripture  no  expressed 
precept  or  precedent  for  infant  baptism?"  "Not  one,  sir,"  was  Mr. 
Riddle's  emphatic  response.  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  250).  This  set  him  thinking. 
He  ordered  from  Munro  all  the  books  he  could  find  on  infant  baptism.  He 
read  nothing  on  the  other  side.  He  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  Bap- 
tists at  this  time,  and  was  much  prejudiced  against  them.  When  the 
difficulty  was  laid  before  the  father  he  received  as  reply:  "We  have 
made  our  appeal  to  the  law  and  testimony.  Whatever  is  not  found 
therein  we  must  of  course  abandon."  But  Alexander,  not  liking  to  hold 
any  question  in  a  state  of  uncertainty,  betook  himself  again  to  his 
Paedo-Baptist  authorities.  Not  being  satisfied  with  their  arguments, 
he  turned  to  his  Greek  Testament.  This  made  the  matter  worse.  At 
last  he  had  to  admit  that  there  were  no  "express  terms  or  precedents" 
for  the  practice  of  infant  baptism  in  the  Scriptures.  But  he  said 
(Rich.  Mem.  I.  251)  :— 

"As  for  those  who  are  already  members  of  the  Church,  and 
participants  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  I  can  see  no  propriety,  even  if  the 
Scriptural  evidence  for  infant  baptism  be  found  deficient,  in  their 
unchurching  or  paganizing  themselves,  or  in  putting  off  Christ,  merely 
for  the  sake  of  making  a  new  profession ;  thus  going  out  of  the  Church 
merely  for  the  sake  of  coming  in  again." 

But  in  the  case  of  new  converts  he  concluded  that  they  ought  to 
preach  and  practice  "apostolic  baptism."  Here  at  the  request  of  his 
father  he  let  the  matter  rest.  Several  incidents  contributed  to  bring 
it  up  again.  The  Synod  of  Pittsburg  made  as  one  of  their  objections  to 
the  Christian  Association  (Rich.  Mem.  328)  "for  declaring  that  the 
administration  of  baptism  to  infants  is  not  authorized  by  scriptural  pre- 
cept or  example,  and  is  a  matter  of  indifference,  yet  administering  that 
ordinance  while  holding  such  an  opinion." 

Alexander  replied  to  this: 

"We  dare  not  inculcate  infant  baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  as 
indispensably  incumbent  upon  Christians,  because  the  Lord  has  nowhere 
expressly  enjoined  it.  If  anything  can  be  produced  on  this  head,  we 
should  be  glad  to  see  it.  Until  this  be  done,  we  think  it  highly  anti- 
scriptural,  to  make  it  a  term  of  communion,  for  to  do  this  is  to  make 
it  a  term  of  salvation." 
and  defines  their  position  at  that  time  (Rich.  Mem.  L  344-5)  : 

"We  look  at  baptism  now  in  nearly  the  same  point  of  view  in  which 
the  primitive  Church  looked  at  circumcision,  and  consider  the  cases,  if 
not  altogether  yet  nearly  parallel ;  so  far  so,  that  we  must  either  forbear 
or  otherwise  reject  a  great  number  of  God's  dear  children  without  his 
special  warrant,  if  not  in  express  violation  of  his  Divine  commands." 


Th^  Thkoi^ogy  0^  AivSXANDKR  Campb^i,!,.  137 

Then  came  a  discussion  with  a  Baptist  preacher  in  the  home  of 
his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Brown.  Alexander  ably  defended  infant  baptism, 
but  afterward  was  not  entirely  satisfied  with  his  arguments  (Rich. 
Mem.  I.  362).  Next  was  the  notice  of  the  fact  that  three  members  of 
the  Christian  Association,  Joseph  Bryant,  Margaret  Fullerton  and 
Abraham  Altars,  had  not  received  the  rite  in  any  way.  The  question 
now  took  a  practical  aspect.  Should  these  partake  of  the  Communion? 
(Rich.  Mem.  I.  ZT^)-  As  they  wished  immersion,  Thomas  Campbell 
consented  to  perform  the  rite.  It  was  done  in  a  singular  way.  They 
went  to  a  deep  pool  in  Buffalo  Creek.  The  candidates  walked  into  the 
water  until  it  came  to  their  shoulders.  Thomas  Campbell,  standing 
upon  a  root,  projecting  from  the  bank,  bent  their  heads  into  the  water, 
repeating  in  each  case  the  baptismal  formula.  So  serious  an  occasion 
was  not  wanting  its  cynic.  James  Foster,  the  irrepressible,  did  not 
approve  the  manner  of  baptism,  nor  did  he  think  that  one  who  had 
not  been  immersed  himself  should  immerse  others  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  373). 
Now  the  question  was  carried  into  the  home  of  Alexander.  A  child 
had  been  born  there.  The  maternal  grandparents,  as  good  Presby- 
terians, wished  that  it  be  baptized.  Just  before  this  Alexander,  in 
preaching  upon  the  Great  Commission,  when  he  came  to  the  part  on 
baptism,  said:  "As  I  am  sure  it  is  unscriptural  to  make  this  matter 
a  term  of  communion,  I  let  it  slip.  I  wish  to  think  and  let  think  on 
these  matters."  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  392).  But  it  would  not  slip.  It  had 
invaded  his  own  household.  He  now  went  over  the  whole  ground 
anew.  He  saw  that  baptism  was  a  matter  of  much  more  importance 
than  he  had  thought,  that  it  was  a  direct  ordinance  of  Christ,  that  it 
was  not  enough  to  admit  that  baptism  was  without  divine  warrant. 
Was  the  baptism  of  a  believer  a  duty?  Was  that  baptism  immersion 
only?  He  continued  his  studies  and  finally  being  convinced  that  his 
own  condition  was  that  of  an  unbaptized  person,  went  without  confid- 
ing his  decision  to  anyone  to  seek  Matthias  Luce,  a  Baptist  preacher 
of  Washington,  to  get  him  to  perform  the  rite  (Rich.  Mem.  I.  395). 
By  a  strange  coincidence,  as  he  stopped  at, the  house  of  his  father  on 
ihe  way,  his  sister  Dorothea  took  him  aside  and  confided  to  him  that 
she  had  been  troubled  about  her  baptism  and  that  she  wished  to  be 
immersed  and  requested  him  to  lay  the  case  before  their  father.  He 
smiled  and  told  her  the  purpose  of  his  trip.  They  went  to  Thomas 
Campbell,  who,  to  their  surprise,  made  no  objection.  Arrangements 
were  made  for  the  performance  of  the  rite  June  12,  181 2. 

On  the  morning  of  that  day,  Thomas  had  his  wife  put  up  a  change 
of  clothing  for  the  two  of  them.     This  was  his  first  intimation  of  his 


138  'I'hk  Rise  oj?  the  Current  Reformation. 

purpose  to  be  immersed  with  his  children.  Arriving  at  the  place  ap- 
pointed, he  made  a  long  address,  reviewing  the  whole  ground  gone 
over.  Alexander  followed  in  a  defense  of  what  they  were  about  to  do. 
Meanwhile  James  Hanen  took  his  wife  aside  and  they  decided  to  join 
the  others.  The  seven  were  immersed,  Thomas  Campbell  and  wife, 
A.  Campbell  and  wife,  James  Hanen  and  wife,  and  Dorothea,  upon 
the  simple  confession  of  faith.  The  meeting  was  seven  hours  long 
(Rich.  Mem.  I.  396).  On  the  next  Sunday  James  Foster  and  others 
followed  their  example.  At  this  General  Acheson  and  those  opposed 
to  immersion  left  the  Brush  Run  Church.  Immersion  became  a  dis- 
tinctive mark  of  the  movement  of  the  Campbells.  A  long  and  painful 
course  was  now  ended.  Most  of  the  way  had  been  gone  blindly.  Now 
all  felt  they  had  seen  a  new  light. 

Thus  the  questions  of  the  proper  action  and  proper  subject  of 
t)aptism  were  settled  by  181 2.  This  brought  them  on  Baptist  ground 
and  resulted  in  the  union  with  the  Baptists  (See  p.  99). 

The  questions  of  the  design  and  place  of  Baptism  in  the  programme 
of  Restoration  did  not  arise  until  later. 

2.  Design:  The  doctrine  of  the  Design  of  Baptism  was  an  out- 
growth  of  the  debates  on  Baptism  with  Paedo-Baptist  antagonists.  Mr. 
Campbell  went  into  these  contests  as  the  champion  of  the  Baptist  cause. 
The  issue  was  forced  upon  him  (C.  B.  664),  but  he  certainly  felt  him- 
self in  full  harmony  wuth  his  Baptist  brethren  on  this  question.  In  the 
process  of  these  discussions,  he  derived  a  doctrine  of  the  import  or 
meaning  of  baptism  which  proved  to  be  the  chief  reason  for  his  excis- 
ion from  that  body.  The  origin  of  this  doctrine  is  frankly  stated  by 
Mr.  Campbell  (Harb.  '38,  467-8)  :— 

"In  1820  the  Editor  had  a  debate  with  Mr.  Walker  on  the  subject 
and  action  of  Christian  baptism.  He  had  not  then  turned  his  thoughts 
to  the  special  meaning  or  design  of  that  ordinance.  Either  during  that 
discussion,  or  in  transcribing  it  for  the  press,  an  impression  was  made 
on  his  mind  that  baptism  had  a  very  important  meaning  and  was  some 
way  connected  with  remission  of  sins ;  but  engaged  so  much  in  other 
inquiries,  it  was  put  on  file  for  further  consideration."  (See  Walker 
Deb.  13,  17,  170;  Rich.  Mem.  II.  20).  'Immediately  on  receiving  a 
challenge  from  Mr.  Wm.  L.  McCalla,  of  Kentucky,  dated  May  17, 
1823,  I  resolved  to  settle  the  true  meaning  of  baptism  before  I  ever 
debated  the  subject  again.  To  examine  this  matter,  I  went  to  my  Testa- 
ment with  the  zeal  of  a  freshman.  Mr.  Thomas  Campbell  and  myself 
discussed  this  matter  at  considerable  length  for  some  months.  It  was 
not  named  to  a  third  person  till  July  or  August  following,  when 
Brother  Walter  Scott  made  his  first  visit  to  my  nesidence.  During 
his  stay  my  father  informed  him,  in  my  presence,  of  the  contemplated 


The  Theowgy  o^  Ai^exander  Campbei^i,.  139 

debate,  and  stated  at  considerable  length  the  views  of  baptism  which 
we  had  agreed  to  offer  on  the  occasion.  As  it  had  not  been  divulged 
to  any  other  person,  I  was  anxious  for  the  judgment  of  one  \yhom  I 
so  highly  esteemed  on  account  of  his  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  waited  for  his  opinion  with  much  interest.  He  gave  it  upon  the 
whole  in  favor  of  the  views  offered;  and  more  than  once  during  his 
stay  recommended  the  importance  of  giving  such  a  view  in  the  ap- 
proaching discussion." 

Scott  had  most  likely  been  prepared  for  this  by  the  pamphlet  "On 
Baptism,"  sent  out  by  the  New  York  Church  in  1820  (See  Baxter 
"Life  of  Scott,"  47-53). 

Accordingly,  in  the  McCalla  Debate  Mr.  Campbell  introduced  the 
doctrine  as  one  of  his  chief  arguments  for  the  proper  subject  of  bap- 
tism, viz.,  the  believer  (McCalla  Deb.  116-7,  134-7,  146;  Rich.  Mem.  II. 
80-3).  This  argument  runs  as  follows:  "Baptism  is  for  the  remission 
of  sins.  The  term  is  'sins,'  the  plural ;  not  the  'original  sin,'  a  singular. 
An  infant  cannot  be  guilty  of  sins ;  hence  he  is  not  a  proper  subject 
for  baptism."  The  center  of  interest  in  this  argument  was  its  major 
premise.  This  was  evidently  derived  from  Acts  2 138 ;  and  although  the 
view  was  novel,  Mr.  Campbell  began  then  and  there  to  enforce  it  upon 
his  Baptist  brethren  (Harb.  '38,  468-9;  McCalla  Deb.  144).  Thus  this 
doctrine,  formulated  in  .discussion,  was  brought  forward  as  one  of 
the  items  of  the  Reformation  (C.  B.  401).  To  Walter  Scott,  however, 
goes  the  honor  of  having  reduced  it  to  practice.  As  the  evangelist 
of  the  Mahoning  Association,  he  prepared  a  series  of  sermons  on  the 
Ancient  Gospel.  For  a  while  perplexed  as  to  how  to  state  his  mes- 
sage for  the  practical  aid  of  the  unconverted,  he  incorporated  baptism 
as  designed  for  the  remission  of  sins  and  set  it  in  order:  i.  Faith, 
2.  Repentance,  3.  Baptism,  4.  Remission  of  Sins,  5.  The  Holy  Spirit 
(RJch  Mem.  II.  208).  This  message  he  felt  to  be  so  novel  that  he 
first  went  outside  the  limits  of  the  Association  to  proclaim  it.  (Rich. 
Mem.  II.  209).  Taking  courage  then,  he  set  forth  the  doctrine  at 
New  Lisbon,  Ohio,  and  baptized  a  candidate,  annexing  to  the  usual 
formula,  the  words,  "for  the  remission  of  sins."  Great  excitement  fol- 
lowed. Scott  passed  like  a  meteor  throughout  the  Western  Reserve. 
The  preachers  took  up  the  message.  The  first  great  evangelistic  move- 
ment among  the  followers  of  the  Campbells  resulted  (Harb.  38,  469). 
Rumors  of  the  commotion  came  to  Bethany.  The  Campbells  feared 
that  Scott  had  betrayed  the  cause  by  his  precipitancy.  The  father  was 
sent  to  inquire  into  the  matter,  and  returning  with  the  verdict  of  ap- 
proval, the  son  now  came  out  with  the  doctrinal  statement  of  their  posi- 
tions in  the  essays  on  the  Ancient  Gospel  (Rich.  Mem.  II.  219). 


140  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reeormation. 

He  says  (C.  B.  416) :—  . 

"And  now  I  propose  to  do  three  things.     1st.  To  show  that  the 

apostles  addressed  Christians  as  having  their  sins  remitted.  2d.  That 
frequent  allusions  to  baptism  in  the  sacred  epistles,  represent  it  as  an 
ablution.  And  in  the  third  place  I  must  show  that  it  is  as  plainly 
affirmed  in  the  New  Testament  that  God  forgives  men's  sins  in  the  act 
of  immersion,  as  that  he  will  raise  the  dead  at  the  voice  of  the  archangel, 
or  as  that  Jesus  Christ  will  come  again  to  judge  the  world.'' 

This  third  proposition  he  enlarges  as  follows  (C.  B.  416)  : — 

"In  the  third  place,  I  proceed  to  show  that  we  have  the  most  ex- 
plicit proof  that  God  forgives  sins  for  the  name's  sake  of  his  Son,  or 
zvhen  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  is  named  upon  us  in  immersion : — tha4; 
in,  and  hy,  the  act  of  immersion,  so  soon  as  our  bodies  are  put  under 
zvater,  at  that  very  instant  our  former,  or  'old  sins'  are  all  zvashed  away, 
provided  only  that  we  are  true  believers.  This  was  the  view  and  the 
expectation  of  every  one  who  was  immersed  in  the  apostolic  age ;  and 
it  was  a  consciousness  of  having  received  this  blessing  that  caused 
them  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  and,  like  the  eunuch,  to  'go  on  their  way 
rejoicing.'  When  Jesus  commanded  reformation  and  forgiveness  of 
sins  to  be  announced  in  his  name  to  all  nations,  he  commanded  men  to 
receive  immersion  to  the  confirmation  of  this  promise.  Thus  we  find 
that  when  the  gospel  ^as  announced  on  Pentecost,  and  when  Peter 
opened  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  the  Jews,  he  commanded  them  to  be 
immersed  for  the  remission  of  sins.  This  is  quite  sufficient,  if  we  had 
no't  another  zvord  on  the  subject.  I  say  it  is  quite  sufficient  to  show  that 
the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  Christian  immersion  were,  in  their  first 
proclamations  by  the  holy  apostles  inseparably  connected  together. 
Peter,  to  whom  were  committed  the  keys,  opened  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  in  this  manner,  and  made  repentance,  or  reformation,  and  im- 
mersion, equally  necessary  to  forgiveness.  In  the  common  version  it 
reads  thus:  'Repent  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you,  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins,  and  you  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.'  When 
any  thing  is  done  for  any  purpose,  it  is  always  understood  that  there 
is  a  necessary  connexion  betwixt  that  which  is  done,  and  the  object  in 
view.  When  a  person  is  immersed  for  the  remission  of  sins,  it  is  just 
the  same  as  if  expressed,  in  order  to  obtain  ^o.  remission  of  sins." 

This  was  not  the  doctrine  that  baptisiu  had  in  itself  some  magical 
power,  so  as  to  work  forgiveness  of  sins,  etc.  Mr.  Campbell  says 
(C.  B.  436)  :- 

"We  connect  faith  with  immersion  as  essential  to  forgiveness — and 
therefore,  as  was  said  of  old,  'According  to  your  faith,  so  be  it  to  you,' 
so  say  we  of  immersion.  He  that  goes  down  into  the  water  to  put  on 
Christ,  in  the  faith  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  cleanses  from  all  sin,  and 
that  he  has  appointed  immersion  as  the  medium,  and  the  act  of  ours, 
through  and  in  which  he  actually  and  formally  remits  our  sins,  has 
when  immersed  the  actual  remission  of  his  sins.  So  that  he  is  dead 
by  sin,  buried  with  Jesus,  and  is  born  again,  or  raised  to  life  again, 


The  THEOI.OGY  0?  AuxANDER  Campbei.1^  141 

a  life  new  and  divine,  in  and  through  the  act  of  immersion.  This  we 
have  seen  in  the  preceding  essays  is  the  Bible  import  of  the  one  immer- 
sion." 

This  efficacy  is  secured  solely  by  divine  appointment  (C.  B.  436, 
438).  Here  the  positive  precept  of  the  Covenant  Theology  enters  as 
an  essential  factor  of  the  doctrine.  (See  p.  49).  Hence  the  whole 
virtue  of  baptism  is  obedience.  As  such,  it  is  the  medium  of  divine 
blessings.  This  medium  must  be  evident  to  consciousness;  hence  it 
must  be  an  object  of  sense.     He  says  (C.  B.  446) : — 

"And  one  of  the  better  promises  on  which  the  new  economy  is 
established,  one  of  the  superior  excellencies  of  the  New  Covenant,  is, 
that  under  it  the  forgiveness  of  sins  is  imparted,  and  the  conscience 
perfected  in  and  by  means  addressed  to  our  senses,  and  of  the  easiest 
access  to  every  believer  of  the  philanthropy  of  God.  So  that  the  instant 
of  time,  and  the  means  by  which,  the  formal  remission  is  granted,  is  an 
object  of  sense,  and  a  proper  subject  of  remembrance.  Hence  those 
who  apostatized  from  the  faith  are  said  to  have  'forgotten  that  they 
were  purified  from  their  old  or  former  sins' ;  i.  e,,  sins  committed  before 
immersion.  From  which  it  is  as  clear  as  demonstration  itself,  that  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  was  through  some  sensible  means,  or  it  could  not 
have  been  a  proper  subject  of  remembrance." 

Here  the  Empiricism  of  Mr.  Campbell  appears.  As  such,  baptism 
is  likened  to  the  marriage  rite  (C.  B.  446).  In  it  the  believer  enters 
into  legal  and  real  union  with  Christ,  and  can  claim  all  the  blessings 
therein  covenanted.    Thus  (C.  B.  486)  : — 

"In  the  natural  order  of  the  evangelical  economy,  the  items  stand 
thus: — I.  Faith;  2.  Reformation;  3.  Immersion;  4.  Remission  of 
sins ;  5.  Holy  Spirit ;  and  6.  Eternal  Life.  We  do  not  teach  that  one 
of  these  precedes  the  other,  as  cause  and  effect ;  but  that  they  are  all 
naturally  connected,  and  all,  in  this  order,  embraced  in  the  glad  tidings 
of  salvation." 

3.  Place :  The  place  of  baptism  in  the  Restoration  was  determined 
by  this  philosophy  of  its_meaning.  Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell 
began  with  the  determination  that  this  rite  should  be  a  matter  of  for- 
bearance (Rich.  Mem.  I.  344).  They  took  this  stand  in  the  interest 
of  union.  Stone  held  also  the  same  position.  Baptism  was  also  a 
matter  of  forbearance  in  some  of  the  Scotch  Baptist  Churches;  i.  e., 
those  of  James  A.  Haldane  and  Alexander  Carson  (C.  B.  394,  407,  229). 
Others,  as  the  New  York  Church,  were  close  immersionists  (C.  B.  389). 
In  Mr.  Campbell's  review  of  the  history  of  these  churches,  he  treats 
this  question  (C.  B.  457)  : — 

"While  all  of  the  above  churches  manifest  a  scrupulous  regard  to 
the  grand  constitutional  principles  of  the    Kingdom    of  Jesus  Christ, 


112  The  Rise  of  the  Current  Reformation. 

they  seem  to  differ  from  each  other  in  their  views  of  the  ordinance 
of  the  Great  King  on  the  subject  of  naturahzation.  Some  of  them 
receive  unnaturaUzed  persons  into  his  realm  on  the  ground  of  forbear- 
ance. On  this  subject  I  write  with  great  caution,  for  I  know  this  ques- 
tion of  forbearance  has  in  it  some  perplexities  of  no  easy  solution,  and 
is  at  least  of  as  difficult  solution  as  that  concerning  the  amalgamation 
of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  in  the  Christian  Church,  decided  by  the  apos- 
tles and  elders  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem." 

He  i^  not  uncertain  as  to  the  primitive  practice,  but  recognizes 
that  a  breach  has  been  made  in  Zion,  and  that  now  many  have  the  traits 
of  Christian  character  who  have  not  complied  with  the  formal  terms 
of  entrance.    He  says  (C.  B.  457)  : — 

"But  the  question  of  the  greatest  difficulty  to  decide,  is,  whether 
there  should  be  any  laws  or  rules  adopted  by  the  churches  relating  to 
the  practice  of  receiving  persons  unimmersed  in  the  assembles  of  the 
saints.  Whether  on  the  ground  of  forbearance,  as  it  is  called,  such 
persons  as  have  been  once  sprinkled,  or  not  at  all,  but  who  are  satisfied 
with  their  sprinkling,  or  without  any,  are,  on  their  solicitation,  to  be 
received  into  any  particular  congregation,  and  to  be  treated  in  all  re- 
spects as  those  who  have,  by  their  own  voluntary  act  and  deed,  been 
naturalized  and  constitutionally  admitted  into  the  kingdom.  To  make 
a  law  that  such  should  be  received,  appears  to  me,  after  long  and  close 
deliberation,  a  usurpation  of  the  legislative  authority  vested  in  the  holy 
apostles,  and  of  dangerous  tendency  in  the  administration  of  the  Reign 
of  Heaven.  Again,  to  say  that  no  weak  brother,  however,  honest  in  his 
professions,  excellent  in  his  deportment  and  amiable  in  his  character, 
who  cannot  be  convinced  but  that  his  infant  sprinkling  is  Christian 
baptism,  and  who  solicits  a  participation  with  us  in  the  festivities  of 
Zion:  I  say,  to  say  by  a  stern  decree  that  none  such  shall  on  any  ac- 
count be  received,  appears  to  be  illiberal,  unkind,  censorious,  and  oppo- 
site to  that  benevolence  which  is  one  of  the  primary  virtues  of  Chris- 
tianity." 

While  he  halted  a  long  time  between  these  two  opinions,  he  finally 
cast  the  weight  of  his  personality  in  favor  of  the  former.  It  is  possi- 
ble that  his  union  with  the  Baptists,  and  his  stubborn  fight  for  fifteen 
years  to  maintain  his  standing  among  them,  may  have  aided  his  decis- 
sion  (C.  B.  217).  Also,  his  placing  the  acceptance  of  the  proposition 
that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  and  the  single  act  of  inauguration,  viz.,  bap- 
tism, in  the  room  of  all  credal  demands  upon  the  new  convert,  may  have 
confirmed  his  conviction  of  the  place  and  importance  of  this  institution 
(C.  B.  140).  At  least,  at  the  emergence  from  the  conflict  with  the 
Baptists,  the  churches  of  the  Reformation  were  practically  close- 
immersionist  and  have  remained  so  to  this  day.  But  Mr.  Campbell, 
and  those  who  followed  in  the  same  spirit,  maintained  an  attitude  of 


The   THEOI.OGY  OF   AWXANDER  Campbei,!..  143 

appreciation  for  the  pious  un-immersed  of  all  parties;    as  he  said  in 
the  famous  letter  to  the  Lady  of  Lunenburg  (Harb.  '37,  41 1-2)  : — 

"But  who  is  a  Christian?  I  answer,  every  one  that  believes  in 
his  heart  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God;  re- 
pents of  his  sins  and  obeys  him  in  all  things  according  to  his  measure 
of  knowledge  of  his  will. 

"I  cannot,  therefore,  make  any  one  duty  the  standard  of  Christian 
state  or  character,  not  even  immersion  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  in  my  heart  regard  all  that  have 
been  sprinkled  in  infancy  without  their  own  knowledge  and  consent  as 
aliens  from  Christ  and  the  well  -grounded  hope  of  heaven." 

(See  also  Rice  Deb.  544). 

7.  Pneumatology :  Baptism  was  the  transition  to  a  new  state. 
See  "Essay  on  Remission  of  Sins"  (Chr.  Sys.  63-71).  In  this  state  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  indwelling  power  (See  p.  68). 

8.  Ecclesiology :     (Chr.  Sys.  77-1 11)    (Seep.  98). 

9.  Eschatology:  (Chr.  Sys.  71-5).  The  orthodox  position  was 
taken,  yet  this  was  not  made  a  test  of  fellowship,  as  in  the  case  of 
Aylett  Raines  (Rich.  Mem.  n_.         ). 

Thus,  Dear  Reader,  our  task  is  finished.  Note  how  this  move- 
ment came  out  of  the  larger  religious  world,  that  it  took  the  best  there- 
from— its  religious  impulses,  its  models,  its  scholarship, — as  its  rights  of 
inheritance.  It  has  nothing  to  fear  also  from  the  scholarship  of  our 
day.  It  may  well  emulate  the  zeal  for  union  among  some  of  its 
neighbors.  Let  its  sons  go  in  and  out  in  all  the  world's  social  and 
religious  activities.  Let  them  give  and  take ;  let  them  learn  and  teach ; 
let  them  ever  keep  humble  in  vision  of  the  vast  hosts  of  God ; — this  les- 
son is  the  moral  of  this  little  history,  which  a  better  art  would  have 
left  unstated. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


Abbreviations 
used  in  book. 
Ames,  William,  "Medulla  Theologiae." 
Baxter,  William,  "Life  of  Walter  Scott,"  1874. 
Boston,  Thos.,  "Memoirs." 

Campbell,  Thos.,  "Declaration  and  Address,"   1809. 
Campbell,  Alexander,  "Debate  with  John  Walker,"  1820. 
"Debate  with  W.  L.  McCalla,"  1823. 
"The  Christian  Baptist,"  C.  B. 

1823 — 1830.     Burnett's    Edition 
"Debate  with  Robert  Owen,"   1829. 

"The  Millennial  Harbinger,"  Harb.  '30. 

monthly  periodical,  40  vols.,  1830 — 1870, 

Christianity  Restored.  Chr.  Rest. 

"Debate  with  Bishop  Purcell,"  1837. 

Christian    System.  Chr.  Sys. 

"Debate  with  Rev.   N.  L.  Rice,"   1843. 

Christian  Baptism.  Chr.  Bap'm. 

"Memoirs    of   Thos.    Campbell,"    1861. 
Coccejus,   "De   Foedere   et  Testamento   Dei." 
Fisher,  Edward,  "Marrow  of  Modern  Divinity." 
Fisher,  Geo.  P.,  "History  of  Doctrine." 
Grotius,  "De  Jure  Belli  et  Pacis." 
Hayden,  A.  S.,  "History  of  the  Disciples  in  the  Western 

Reserve,"    1875.  Hay. 

Jefferson,  et  ah,  "The  Federalist." 
Kaftan,  "The  Truth  of  the  Christian  Religion." 
Locke,  John,  "Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding." 

"Reasonableness  of  Christianity." 
Richardson,    Robert,    "Memoirs    of   A.    Campbell,"  Rich.,  Mem. 

1868,  2  vols. 
Rousseau,  "Contrat  Social." 
Schaff,  "Creeds  of  Christendom." 

Stone,  B.  W.,  "The  Christian  Messenger,"  1826,     -  Chr.  Mess, 

monthly  periodical. 
"Autobiography  of  B.  W.  Stone,"  1846. 
Williams,  John  Augustus,  "Life  of  Elder  John  Smith,"  1870. 
Witsius,  "The  Economy  of  the  Covenants   of  God  with  Men." 
Young,  C.  A.,  "Historical  Documents,  illustrating 

Christian  Union."  Hist.  Doc. 


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